Brühl (Rhineland)

History

Brühl received its town privileges in 1285. At the end of the 12th century or the beginning of the 13th, the Jewish scholar Rav Shlomo, grandson of the known Samuel Ben Natronai lived in the city. From 1567 on, the city of Brühl was the official residence of the Prince Bishops of Cologne. In the 18th century the Prince Bishop Clemens August replaced a former ruined castle and built the Augustusburg and Falkenlust palaces near the city center. Today, both are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of their outstanding rococo architecture. Until 1990 Augustusburg Palace was used by the federal government to receive foreign heads of states visiting West Germany.

Main sights

• The amusement park Phantasialand
• The Max Ernst Museum, opened in 2005. It displays sculptures and paintings of the surrealistic artist Max Ernst (who was born in Brühl) and other modern art.
• Local history and pottery are shown in two small museums in the city centre

Infrastructure

Brühl station is on the Left Rhine line and the nearby Kierberg station is on the Eifel railway. Brühl also has several stops on line 18 of the Cologne tram line.

Notable people

• Else Schmitt (1921–1995), politician (SPD) and a district mayor in Cologne
• Erika Reihlen (born 1936), theologian and former president of the German Protestant Church Day
• Hans Leyendecker (born 1949), journalist
• Heinz-Josef Kehr (1950–2014), footballer
• Helmut Müller-Brühl (1933–2012), conductor and initiator of the Brühler Schlosskonzerte at the Augustusburg Palace
• Joel Sturm (born 2001), racing driver
• Josef Engel (1922–1978), historian
• Max Ernst (1891–1976), painter and sculptor
• Patric Hemgesberg (born 1973), lyricist
• Reiner Calmund (born 1948), football coach and former manager of Bayer 04 Leverkusen
• Wolfgang Streeck (born 1946), sociologist

Twin towns – sister cities

Brühl is twinned with:

• GRC Chalcis, Greece
• TUR Kaş, Turkey
• POL Kunice, Poland
• ENG Royal Leamington Spa, England, United Kingdom
• FRA Sceaux, France
• GER Weißwasser, Germany

In addition to its twin towns, Brühl also cooperates with Battir, Palestine, and Marhanets, Ukraine.

Gallery

References

References

1. [https://www.bruehl.de/rp/kommunalwahl.php Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2025], Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 05 November 2025.
2. Elbogen, I.. (1934). "Germania Judaica". M. & H. Marcus.
3. "Städtepartnerschaften". Brühl.