Amt Hülchrath (und Erprath)

Hülchrath castle was built in the 12th century and the surrounding county of the same name was in personal union with Cleves. In 1314, the Archbishop of Cologne purchased the county, although it remained under Kleve sovereignty. In 1331, the Electorate assumed full sovereignty over Hülchrath and converted it into an Amt. Until around 1500, when Dingstuhl Königsdorf split off to form its own Amt, it had six subdivisions. The remaining five subdivisions were part of the Electorate of Cologne throughout the period covered by the database.

 

Erprath castle was built in the 13th century. In the 14th century, it passed to the County of Virneburg and in 1405 to the Electorate of Cologne, where it became the seat of an Unteramt. Until 1680, the Unteramt was administered together with Stadt Neuss. After that, it was administered together with Amt Hülchrath, once again giving that Amt six subdivisions. (Officially, Erprath was added to the name of the Amt at that time, but for the sake of brevity, I ignore that change.)

 

Adjacent to Amt Hülchrath were fourteen Unterherrschaften that were not part of the Amt but were grouped with it for statistical purposes. They are described on their own page.