Stadt and Amt Kranenburg

Amt Düffel

Herrlichkeiten Halt-Düffelward & Zyfflich-Wyler

A castle had been built at Kranenburg (west of Kleve) by 1270, and the nearby town was granted city rights in 1294. An Amt was established around those features. It was eventually divided into two Richterämter: one for Kranenburg and one for the lightly populated Düffel region to its north. Sources place the Düffel region in the County/Duchy of Guelders prior to 1473. Whether Kranenburg was also part of Guelders is uncertain, but it was clearly part of Cleves after 1473.

 

In 1646, three villages in Richteramt Düffel split off to form Herrlichkeit Halt-Düffelward. The following year, two villages split off from Richteramt Kranenburg to form Herrlichkeit Zyfflich-Mehr. In 1753, the Richterämter were converted to full-fledged Ämter within Kreis Kleve. The two Herrlichkeiten were also assigned to Kreis Kleve, but Stadt Kranenburg was not.

 

          Subdivision structure as of 1521                                        Subdivision structure as of 1794