KÖLN - Geography and history
The Cologne Regierungsbezirk together with that of Düsseldorf forms the Rhineland part of North Rhine-Westphalia. Approximately 46% of the area of 7 360 km2 is used for agricultural purposes, with more than a quarter covered by woods.
The main feature of the Regierungsbezirk is the lowland indentation which is traversed by the Rhine. This is open on one side only to the north German plain. On the other sides, it is flanked by the hills of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge. Two of these flanks, the pleasant southern Bergisches Land and the more unspoilt northern Eifel, are part of the Regierungsbezirk.
The population is concentrated in the urban belt along the Rhine, the southern part of the 'Rhine track'. Four of the five major cities in the Regierungsbezirk, including Cologne and Bonn, lie in this area. The fifth is Aachen, which is the centre of a second and smaller conurbation in the 'three-country corner' (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) with its partner conurbations across the borders around Maastricht and Liège forming its mirror image.
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