| Bergheim | |
| "Aachener Tor" Landmark of Bergheim | |
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Bergheim
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Location of the town of Bergheim within Rhein-Erft-Kreis district
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| Coordinates | |
| Administration | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Cologne |
| District | Rhein-Erft-Kreis |
| Town subdivisions | 15 |
| Mayor | Maria Pfordt (CDU) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 96.33 km2 (37.19 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 72 m (236 ft) |
| Population | 62,129 (31 December 2010)[1] |
| - Density | 645 /km2 (1,670 /sq mi) |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | BM |
| Postal codes | 50126, 50127, 50129 |
| Area code | 02271 |
| Website | Kreisstadt Bergheim (German) |
Bergheim is a German city 20 km west of Cologne and the capital of the Rhein-Erft-Kreis. The city's Niederaußem district is one of the most important suppliers for energy from lignites in Europe.
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Bergheim is about 20 km air line to the west of Cologne in approximately 72 meters height over sea level. The highest elevation is the Glessener Höhe (Glessen Hight) with 204 meters. Near Bergheim the Erft River flows. The city lies in the Zülpicher Börde, which belongs to the Kölner Bucht. Economic-geographically Bergheim lies in the Rhenish brown coal district.
Created in about 4000 BC there is a grave hill field in Niederaußem. Around 50 BC the Romans settled in Bergheim. They constructed the large Roman freeway Via Belgica that crossed the area where Bergheim is today. Later the Francs took control over the region. In the Middle Ages Bergheim was granted city rights and became later part of the county Jülich. In the 19th and 20th century Bergheim grew rapidly through the settlement of industry based on the local brown coal. In World War II the Wesseling synthetic oil plant was bombarded during the Oil Campaign of World War II. Then in April 1944 a large underground plant for synthetic oil manufactured from brown coal was started outside Bergheim.[2]
Points of interest are the Niederaussem Power Station with the world's tallest cooling tower as well as the Naturpark Kottenforst-Ville.
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