Hürth is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hürth shares borders with the city of Cologne and is about 6 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the natural preserve Kottenforst-Ville. The town consists of thirteen districts, once independent villages, and is distributed over a relatively large area. The municipal area is interspersed with lakes and stretches of forest. In former times, the Eifel Aqueduct, a Roman aqueduct which supplied the city of Cologne with drinking water, went through Hürth. Remnants of various aqueducts can still be found underground. It is also famous as the birthplace of Michael Schumacher. Geography Hürth is situated about 6 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the Kottenforst-Ville nature reserve. The town, consisting of thirteen formerly independent villages, is essentially made up of numerous subdivisions and commercial centres distributed over a relatively large area. The municipal area is interspersed with lakes and stretches of forest. Coat of arms Hürth's coat of arms shows an eagle from the family coat of arms belonging to the knight Hurth von Schönecken, the cross of Cologne and a cogwheel that refers to the heavy industry. It was awarded to the community on October 26, 1934, by a verdict of the Prussian Ministry of State. Districts Alstädten/Burbach Alt-Hürth Berrenrath Efferen Fischenich Gleuel Hermülheim Hürth-Mitte Kalscheuren Kendenich Knapsack Sielsdorf Stotzheim History On April 1, 1930, the rural communities of Hürth (with Alstädten and Knapsack), Berrenrath, Fischenich, Gleuel (with Sielsdorf and Burbach), Hermülheim and Kendenich (with Kalscheuren) were united into a new country community called Hürth. After the same year's failed attempt by the city of Cologne, with its then-mayor Konrad Adenauer, to incorporate Efferen, Efferen was associated to Hürth in 1933, in tandem with Stotzheim. This made Hürth the largest rural community of Germany until 1978, when Hürth ceased being a rural community and became a suburb of Cologne as new developments in Efferen closed the gap between the city of Cologne and Hürth. The country administration of the rural district Cologne was seated in Hürth on November 22, 1963. From 1816, it had been seated in the city of Cologne itself. The administration moved to Bergheim on September 3, 1993. Hürth is home to the Bundessprachenamt, which was founded on July 4, 1969. Alstädten Alstädten was first mentioned documentarily in 1185. Burbach Burbach was first