Kerpen is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis

Rhein-Erft-Kreis

The Rhein-Erft-Kreis is a district in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Neuss, district-free Cologne, Rhein-Sieg, Euskirchen, Düren.-History:...

, North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

. Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is located about 30 kilometers southwest from Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

.

Division of the town

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 together.

Notable people

Recently Kerpen has become more famous as being the hometown of the catholic priest and social reformer Adolph Kolping

Adolph Kolping

Adolph Kolping was a German Catholic priest.-Life:Kolping grew up as the son of a shepherd. At the age of 18 he went to Cologne as a shoemaker’s assistant. He was shocked by the living conditions of most people living there, which influenced his decision to become a priest...

 and the Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 racing drivers Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

 and his brother Ralf Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher is a German racing driver, and the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher...

 as well as Wolfgang von Trips

Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips

Wolfgang Alexander Albert Eduard Maximilian Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips was a German racing driver. He was the son of a noble Rhineland family.-Formula One and sports car driver:Von Trips was born in Cologne, Germany....

 and reggae artist Patrice Bart-Williams

Patrice Bart-Williams

Patrice Babatunde Bart-Williams , better known as Patrice, is an Afro-German reggae artist. He also often uses his second name: Babatunde , which his parents gave him since Patrice was born on the same day that his grandfather died. His music is influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley...

.

Kerpen Castle is also a birthplace of Otto von Kerpen

Otto von Kerpen

Otto von Kerpen was the second Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, from 1200 to 1208.Otto came from a poor Rhenish knightly family residing in the castle of Kerpen in Kerpen, Rhineland-Palatinate...

, the second Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.

Twinned cities

The town has been twinned since 1993 with Oświęcim

Oswiecim

Oświęcim is a town in the Lesser Poland province of southern Poland, situated west of Kraków, near the confluence of the rivers Vistula and Soła.- History :...

 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.

External links

• Official website of Kerpen