Rhein-Erft-Kreis
District
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Adm. region	Cologne
Capital	Bergheim
Government
• District admin.	Frank Rock (CDU)
Area
• Total	704.5 km2 (272.0 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2021)[1]
• Total	471,891
• Density	670/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	BM
Website	http://www.rhein-erft-kreis.de

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

History

The district in its current borders was created in 1975, when the previous districts Bergheim and Cologne were merged. On 1 November 2003 the district was renamed from Erftkreis to Rhein-Erft-Kreis.

Geography

The main river in the district is the Erft, which also gave it the name. The Erft flows through the foothills of the Eifel, on the left side of the Rhine river. The lake Bleibtreusee is located within the district.

Towns

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows the lion of Jülich in the left half, as most of the area belonged to the duchy of Jülich. The right side shows the Cologne cross, which stands for the former Cologne district. On top the Erft river is depicted; the Prussian Rhine Province had the same symbol in its coat of arms.

Gallery

• 
  Augustusburg Palace in Brühl, Rhein-Erft-Kreis.
• 
  The Erft river in Bergheim.
• 
  Aerial photo of Phantasialand amusement park in Brühl.
• 
  Gates of Parkanlagen Schloss Lechenich in Erftstadt.