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 M�nchen-Gladbach in 1888. This spelling could mislead people to think that Gladbach was a borough of Munich (M�nchen in German), and consequently the name was changed to M�nchen Gladbach in 1950 and M�nchengladbach 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 M�nchengladbach today.
Early history
The first settlements in the area of M�nchengladbach are approximately 300,000�400,000 years old and show remains of Homo erectus and Neanderthal. There are numerous cairns from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age.
The history of M�nchengladbach began with the construction of the Gladbach Minster and the founding of an abbey in the year 974 by Gero, Archbishop of Cologne, and his companion, the monk Sandrad of Trier.
To advance the settlement, the monks created a market north of the church in the 12th century. Craftsmen settled near the market. Gladbach received its town charter in 1364�1366. The "town" got a town wall made of stone, which had to be maintained by the citizens. Remains of that wall can be found at the Geroweiher, as can remains of the "Thick Tower", an old fortified tower at the Waldhausener hill. Until the end of the 18th century the city belonged to the department of Grevenbroich within the duchy of J�lich.
On October 4, 1794, French revolution army troops marched into the town, one day before the fortress J�lich had been handed over. When the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II conveyed the left bank of the river Rhine to France with the Treaty of Lun�ville in 1801, Gladbach fell under
