Rheinbach | |
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 Aerial view of Rheinbach | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Rheinbach within Rhein-Sieg-Kreis district  | |
 Location of Rheinbach | |
  Rheinbach  Rheinbach | |
| Coordinates:50°38′N6°57′E / 50.633°N 6.950°E /50.633; 6.950 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Cologne |
| District | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis |
| Subdivisions | 9 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–25) | Ludger Banken[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 69.72 km2 (26.92 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 173 m (568 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 27,238 |
| • Density | 390.7/km2 (1,012/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 53359 |
| Dialling codes | 02226 |
| Vehicle registration | SU |
| Website | www.rheinbach.de |
Rheinbach (German pronunciation:[ˈʁaɪnˌbax]ⓘ) is a town in theRhein-Sieg-Kreis district (Landkreis), inNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany. It belongs to the administrative district (Regierungsbezirk) ofCologne.
Situated 15 km (9 mi) south-west ofBonn and 35 km (22 mi) south ofCologne, Rheinbach lies at the edge of theEifel region and within the borders of theRhineland Nature Park (Naturpark Rheinland).
Around 80 AD, theEifel Aqueduct, one of the longestaqueducts of theRoman Empire, was running through what is today Rheinbach's town centre.[3] The first written documentation of Rheinbach dates back to 762, whenPepin the Short, thenKing of the Franks, gave lands to thePrüm Abbey.[4] In the early 17th century, Rheinbach came to prominence because of itswitch hunts.[5]
First referred to as a town in 1298, theArchbishop of Cologne purchased Rheinbach and the surrounding villages in 1343. Till 1789, Rheinbach was part of theElectorate of Cologne. In 1794, Rheinbach was incorporated into France within theDépartement de Rhin-et-Moselle before coming under the auspices ofPrussia in 1815.
Around 1947, a considerable number of displaced people from theSudetenland settled in Rheinbach. Having brought their traditions of glasscraft, Rheinbach became famous for itsglass art and today hosts a glass art museum and a specialized school.
The coat of arms was made official in 1915 byWilhelm II, German Emperor andKing of Prussia. The black cross with the silver background stands for the Roman CatholicArchdiocese of Cologne. The Eagle stems from the coat of arms from the Counts of Are-Hochstaden. The blue key refers to the HolySaint Peter, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Cologne.[6]
Besides the town proper, Rheinbach administratively comprises the surrounding villages and hamlets, includingFlerzheim.
As of 2025, the town council has a Christian Democratic (CDU) majority with 14 seats; the Social Democrats (SPD) hold 9 seats, while the Greens (Die Grünen) and the Independents (UWG) hold seven seats each, the Liberals (FDP) hold three.[7]
A local hub for education, Rheinbach is the seat of theHochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, a university of applied science which specializes in business and biomedical sciences.[8]
There are three secondary schools in Rheinbach. The municipal Gymnasium was founded in 1852 and is one of the oldest public secondary schools in the Bonn region;[9] the Vinzenz-Pallotti-Kolleg was one of the few boarding and private schools in Germany; the Catholic run St.-Joseph-Gymnasium was historically a girls-only school and is nowcoeducational.
Rheinbach lies in proximity to theBundesautobahn 61 which connects it with Cologne andKoblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate). TheS-Bahn RB23 (Voreifel Railway) connects Rheinbach withBad Münstereifel and Bonn. Rheinbach is part of the regional bus network of Cologne (Regionalverkehr Köln).
Biggest local sports clubs in Rheinbach are theTV Rheinbach andSC Rheinbach.[10]
Deinze, Belgium
Kamenický Šenov, Czech Republic
Sevenoaks, England, United Kingdom
Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, France "Partnership for Peace" (Partnerschaft des Friedens) withDouaumont-Vaux, FranceRheinbach and the similarly named town ofRhinebeck, New York,USA, participate in a student exchange program.[12]
People as follows have been conferred the titleHonorary citizen of Rheinbach:
Honorary citizen was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Towns and municipalities inRhein-Sieg-Kreis | ||
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