Kerpen

Kerpen (German: [ˈkɛʁpn̩] (listen)) is the most populated town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). It is located about 20 kilometres southwest from Cologne.

Kerpen
Bergerhausen Castle
Coat of arms
Location of Kerpen within Rhein-Erft-Kreis district
Kerpen Kerpen
Coordinates: 50°52′19″N 6°41′46″E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Rhein-Erft-Kreis
Subdivisions	9
Government
• Mayor	Dieter Spürck (CDU)
Area
• Total	113.94 km^2 (43.99 sq mi)
Elevation	95 m (312 ft)
Population  (2019-12-31)[1]
• Total	66,702
• Density	590/km^2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	50169, 50170, 50171
Dialling codes	02237 (Balkhausen, Brüggen, Kerpen, Türnich), 02273 (Horrem, Neu-Bottenbroich, Sindorf), 02275 (Blatzheim, Buir, Manheim, Manheim-neu)
Vehicle registration	BM

Loersfeld Palace

Palace Loersfeld around 1860, Edition by Alexander Duncker

Loersfeld Palace

Division of the town

The town of Kerpen was created in 1975, when the previously independent municipalities Balkhausen, Blatzheim, Brüggen, Buir, Horrem, Kerpen, Manheim, Mödrath, Sindorf and Türnich were merged.

Monuments

• Burg Bergerhausen
• Burg Loersfeld
• Schloss Türnich

Notable people

Kerpen is famous as the birthplace of Catholic priest and social reformer Adolph Kolping (8 December 1813 – 4 December 1865) and Karlheinz Stockhausen (22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007), pioneer of electronic music composition. It was the hometown of Formula One motor racing driver Wolfgang von Trips (4 May 1928 – 10 September 1961). In more recent times, two former residents, the brothers Michael and Ralf Schumacher, have emulated von Trips in achieving success in Formula One. Patrice Bart-Williams is an acclaimed reggae artist.

Education

In 2008, Gymnasium der Stadt Kerpen was considered the largest school in Germany.[2]

Twinned cities

Since 1993, Kerpen has been twinned with Oświęcim in Poland, more commonly known by its German name "Auschwitz", site of the largest of the Nazi concentration camps. The town is also twinned with St. Vith in Belgium.

References

1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2019" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
2. "Die wohl größte Schule in Deutschland". ksta.de (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2019.

External links

• Official website (in German)