Amt Münstereifel

Münstereifel was the site of a monastery spun off from Prüm abbey beginning in the 9th century, but the Münstereifel name did not emerge until the 12th century. The Count of Jülich built a castle nearby in around 1300 and it became the seat of an Amt in 1356.

 

The Amt was divided into ten Gerichte. In 1725, one of those Gerichte (Ripdorf, which will be processed with the Luxemburg region) was traded to the County of Blankenheim in exchange for Gericht Bleibuir. Gericht Schoch (also claimed by the Electorate of Cologne) was abandoned by the 17th century except for a mill, and is omitted from the database.

 

The Gerichte were legal subdivisions of the Duchy and were administered by appointees of the Duke. In contrast, six adjacent Unterherrschaften were not legally part of the Amt, but were typically grouped with it for statistical purposes. They were administered either by local nobles or, on occasion, by foreigners. There are enough of them associated with this Amt to warrant their own page.