Mönchengladbach (German pronunciation: [mœnçənˈɡlatbax]), formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way 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, and the philosopher Hans Jonas.
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.
The origin of the town was an abbey founded in 974. It was named after the Gladbach, a narrow brook, that mostly runs subterraneously today. The abbey and adjoining villages became a town in the 14th century. The town of Rheydt is located nearby and is incorporated into Mönchengladbach today.