Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia

Bergheim
Bergheim
Town
	Aachen Gate
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Bergheim within Rhein-Erft-Kreis district
	Location of Bergheim
	Bergheim Bergheim
	Coordinates: 50°58′N 6°39′E / 50.967°N 6.650°E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Rhein-Erft-Kreis
Subdivisions	15
Government
• Mayor (2025–30)	Volker Mießeler (CDU)
Area
• Total	96.34 km2 (37.20 sq mi)
Elevation	72 m (236 ft)
Population (2024-12-31)
• Total	61,611
• Density	639.5/km2 (1,656/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	50126, 50127, 50129
Dialling codes	02271
Vehicle registration	BM
Website	Kreisstadt Bergheim (in German)

Bergheim (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛʁkhaɪm] ^ⓘ; Ripuarian: Berchem) is a German town, 22 km west of Cologne and the capital of the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (district). The town's Niederaußem district is one of the most important suppliers for energy from lignites in Europe.

Geography

St. Johann Baptist Church in Niederaußem, over 700 years old

Bergheim is about 22 km west of Cologne, approximately 72 metres above sea level. Its highest point is the Glessener Höhe (Glessen Height) at 204 metres. The Erft River flows through Bergheim. The town lies in the Zülpicher Börde, which belongs to the Kölner Bucht. Economically and geographically Bergheim is in the Rhenish lignite coalfield.

History

There is a burial hill in Niederaußem, dating from about 4000 BC. Romans settled in Bergheim around 50 BC. They constructed the major Roman road, the Via Belgica, that crossed the area where Bergheim is today. Later the Franks took control over the region. In the Middle Ages, Bergheim was granted city rights and later became part of the County of Jülich. In the 19th and 20th centuries Bergheim grew rapidly through the settlement of industry based on the local lignite coal. In World War II, the Wesseling synthetic oil plant was bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. Then in April 1944, a large underground plant for synthetic oil manufactured from lignite was set up outside Bergheim.^[2]

Politics

The current mayor of Bergheim is Volker Mießeler of the CDU, who has been serving as mayor since 2017. In the 2025 runoff election he was reelected with 82,24 % of the vote.^[3]

City council

After the 2025 local elections, the Bergheim city council is composed as follows:


Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	11,069	44.7	3.7	22	±0
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	4,573	18.5	11.8	9	6
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	3,866	15.6	4.0	8	1
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	2,223	9.0	3.8	5	1
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	1,652	6.7	0.5	3	±0
	The Left (Linke)	890	3.6	0.8	2	1
	Dare More Democracy (MDW)	275	1.1	1.3	1	±0

	The LOVE (LIEBE)	232	0.9	0.3	0	1
Valid votes		24,780	98.9
Invalid votes		284	1.1
Total		25,064	100.0		50	4
Electorate/voter turnout		48,485	51.7
Source: City of Bergheim

Districts

Ahe
Auenheim
Bergheim-Mitte
Büsdorf
Fliesteden
Glesch
Glessen
Kenten
Niederaußem
Oberaußem
Paffendorf
Quadrath-Ichendorf
Rheidt-Hüchelhoven
Thorr
Zieverich

Points of interest

Points of interest are the Niederaussem Power Station with the world's tallest cooling tower as well as the Kottenforst-Ville Nature Park.

Notable people

Gerhard Fieseler (1896–1987), fighter pilot in the First World War and aircraft constructor (Gerhard-Fieseler-Werke)
Günter Grass (1927–2015), writer, Nobel Prize 1999, lived in Bergheim-Oberaussem for several years after the end of the World War II
Sarah Kreuz (born 1989), singer, second place with DSDS
The footballer Lukas Podolski grew up in Bergheim, played in the youth team of FC Jugend 07 Bergheim from 1991 onwards. In 1995 he changed to the D-youth of the 1. FC Köln
Michael Schumacher (born 1969), Formula 1 racing driver and seven-time world champion, attended the Geschwister-Scholl-Realschule in Bergheim
Lukas Sinkiewicz (born 1985), footballer
Victoria Ulbrich (born 1992), singer and former band member of Queensberry