Oberbergischer Kreis

Oberbergischer Kreis is a rural district in the Cologne region of North Rhine-Westphalia that spreads across wooded hills and rural valleys. Thirteen municipalities together form an area with dense forest cover and scattered settlements, marked by farmland and small towns.

The district was formed in 1932 by merging smaller administrative units and received its current shape in 1975 through territorial reform. At that time parts of dissolved neighboring districts were integrated to simplify municipal structures.

The name Oberbergisch refers to the hilly landscape of the Bergisches Land, where valleys and wooded ridges meet. In the towns you find red brick construction and grey slate on older facades, along with village patterns shaped by rural crafts.

Gummersbach serves as the administrative seat with the district court and offices responsible for all thirteen municipalities. Most villages and town centers can be reached by rural roads running through wooded hills.

Despite its rural character the district holds older production sites for metalworking and tool manufacturing that still stand beside forested areas today. In some valleys former industrial buildings have been converted into homes or smaller commercial spaces.

Location: Cologne Government Region

Inception: 1932

Capital city: Gummersbach

Elevation above the sea: 413 m

Shares border with: Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, Rhein-Sieg District, Märkischer Kreis, Kreis Olpe, Altenkirchen district, Rhein-Berg District, Remscheid, Wuppertal

Website: https://obk.de

GPS coordinates: 51.03333,7.51667

Latest update: December 13, 2025 18:35