Leverkusen ( /ˈleɪfərˌkuːzən/; German pronunciation: [ˈleːvɐˌkuːzn̩]) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf.
With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is one of the state’s smaller cities. The city is known for the pharmaceutical company Bayer and its associated sports club TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Dating to the 12th century as Wiesdorf, the Leverkusen area was rural until the late 19th century.
Leverkusen was founded in 1930 by merging Wiesdorf, Schlebusch, Steinbüchel and Rheindorf. In 1975, Opladen (including Quettingen and Lützenkirchen since 1930), Hitdorf and Bergisch Neukirchen joined. The present city is made up of several villages, originally called Wiesdorf, Opladen, Schlebusch, Manfort, Bürrig, Hitdorf, Quettingen, Lützenkirchen, Steinbüchel, Rheindorf and Bergisch-Neukirchen.

Leverkusen is twinned with: