Mönchengladbach

Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach Minster
Flag Coat of arms
Mönchengladbach
Location of Mönchengladbach in North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°12′0″N 06°26′0″E / 51.20000°N 6.43333°E / 51.20000; 6.43333Coordinates: 51°12′0″N 06°26′0″E / 51.20000°N 6.43333°E / 51.20000; 6.43333
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Düsseldorf
District	Urban districts of Germany
Government
• Lord Mayor	Hans Wilhelm Reiners (CDU)
Area
• Total	170.43 km2 (65.80 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	259,996
• Density	1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	41001–41239
Dialling codes	02161, 02166
Vehicle registration	MG
Website	www.moenchengladbach.de

Largest groups of foreign residents
Nationality	Population (2013)
Turkey	7,100
Poland	3,017
Greece	1,444

Mönchengladbach (German pronunciation: [mœnçn̩ˈɡlatbax]), formerly known as München-Gladbach is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.

Mönchengladbach is home of the football club Borussia Mönchengladbach, Formula One race car drivers Nick Heidfeld and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, author/cartoonist Walter Moers, cabaret artist Volker Pispers, philosopher Hans Jonas, Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and the former football players and managers Günther Netzer and Jupp Heynckes. Joseph Pilates, the creator of the Pilates method of physical fitness, was born here in 1883.

The original name of the city was Gladbach, which is even today often applied to the town. To distinguish the town from another town of the same name (the present Bergisch Gladbach), it took the name München-Gladbach in 1888. This spelling could mislead people to think that Gladbach was a borough of Munich (München in German), and consequently the name was changed to Mönchen-Gladbach in 1950 and Mönchengladbach in 1960.