Stadt and Amt Andernach

Andernach was originally a Roman settlement located on the Rhein downstream from Koblenz. It was a royal seat of the Frankish Empire even before Charlemagne. In 1167, secular authority was awarded to the Archbishop of Cologne and an Amt (of which the city was not part) grew up around it. (Ecclesiastical authority, however, was exercised by the Archbishop of Trier.) Although not connected to the rest of the Electorate, Andernach served as the capital of the Upper Archbishopric (that is, that part south of Cologne itself). Both the city and the Amt remained part of the Electorate of Cologne throughout the period covered by the database.