Mönchengladbach [key], city (1994 pop. 265,312), North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany. It is the twin city of adjacent Rheydt and is a major center of the German cotton textile industry. Textile machinery, iron, paper, chemicals, leather, and petroleum are also manufactured. A road, rail, and air terminus, it is the north central European headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Mönchengladbach developed around a Benedictine abbey (founded c.972), which was rebuilt several times between the 14th and the 18th cent. and which now serves as the city hall.
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