Kaarst is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Rhein-Kreis Neuss in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is 5 km west of Neuss and 12 km east of …Kaarst is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Rhein-Kreis Neuss in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is 5 km west of Neuss and 12 km east of Mönchengladbach. Before 100 BC Celts lived in the area. Later the Franks came into this area as graves from the 7th century prove. The first written document is the Life of the first bishop of Münster. It describes how bishop Ludger walked from Budica, now Büttgen, through the forest of Hamrithi. The earliest known written mention of Kaarst refers to it as 'Karlesforst' and dates back to 1218. Karl was a very common name for frankish nobles including king Charlemagne, but a link between Charlemagne and Kaarst has not been proven.