Kerpen

Kerpen
Coat of arms
Kerpen
Location of Kerpen within Rhein-Erft-Kreis district
Coordinates: 50°52′19″N 6°41′46″E / 50.87194°N 6.69611°E / 50.87194; 6.69611Coordinates: 50°52′19″N 6°41′46″E / 50.87194°N 6.69611°E / 50.87194; 6.69611
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Rhein-Erft-Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Marlies Sieburg (SPD)
Area
• Total	113.94 km2 (43.99 sq mi)
Elevation	95 m (312 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	65,477
• Density	570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	50169, 50170, 50171
Dialling codes	02237 (Balkhausen, Brüggen, Kerpen, Türnich), 02273 (Horrem, Sindorf), 02275 (Blatzheim, Buir, Manheim)
Vehicle registration	BM

Kerpen is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia. Germany. It is located about 30 kilometers southwest from Cologne.

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

Recently Kerpen has become more famous as being the hometown of the Catholic priest and social reformer Adolph Kolping and the Formula One racing drivers Michael Schumacher and his brother Ralf Schumacher as well as Wolfgang von Trips and reggae artist Patrice Bart-Williams. Bernard Esser, American farmer and member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, was born in Kerpen. This was the place of birth of Catholic bishop and social agitator Pedro Schumacher, who took part in the social revolutions of Ecuador at the end of the XIX century and later died in southern Colombia.

In Kerpen there is for example the Gymnasium der Stadt Kerpen.

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