The Erft is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It flows through the foothills of the Eifel

Eifel

The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....

, and joins the Lower Rhine

Lower Rhine

The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hoek van Holland, Netherlands.Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The main branch is called the Waal which flows from Nijmegen to meet the river Meuse; after which it is called Merwede...

  (left tributary). Its origin is near Nettersheim

Nettersheim

Nettersheim is a municipality in the district of Euskirchen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south-west of Euskirchen. The rivers Erft and Urft have their source in the municipality....

, and its mouth in Neuss

Neuss

Neuss is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district and owes its prosperity to its location at the crossing of historic and modern trade routes. It is primarily known...

-Grimlinghausen south of the Josef-Cardinal-Frings-bridge. The river is 103 km long, which is significantly shorter than it was originally. Due to the open-pit mining

Open-pit mining

Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....

 of lignite

Lignite

Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...

 in the Hambacher Loch, the flow of the river had to be changed.

The Erft gave its name to the town of Erftstadt

Erftstadt

Erftstadt is a town located about 20 km south-west of Cologne in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name of the town derives from the river which flows through it, the Erft...

, through which it flows, as well as to the Rhein-Erft district

Rhein-Erft-Kreis

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

. It also flows through the towns of Bad Münstereifel

Bad Münstereifel

Bad Münstereifel is a historical spa town in the district of Euskirchen, Germany, with about 19,000 inhabitants, situated in the far south of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia...

, Euskirchen

Euskirchen

Euskirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted town-status in 1302....

, Bergheim

Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia

Bergheim is a German city 20 km west of Cologne and the capital of the Rhein-Erft-Kreis. The city's Niederaußem district is one of the most important suppliers for energy from lignites in Europe.- Geography :...

, Bedburg

Bedburg

Bedburg is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia of Germany with 25,000 residents. The town is documented as existing as early as 893.-External links:*...

 and Grevenbroich

Grevenbroich

Grevenbroich is a town in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Erft, approximately 15 km southwest of Neuss and 15 km southeast of Mönchengladbach.-City districts:...

.