Amt Porz

The settlement of Porz dates from the 11th century, but it was Bensburg castle that became the seat of one of the original eight bergisch Ämter. The administrative seat of the Amt eventually moved to Porz, but a court remained in Bensburg. I cannot pinpoint when the name of the Amt changed—it probably occurred gradually. I assume that the change was complete by 1521, when the database starts. Aside from Porz and Bensburg, Freiheit Mülheim was the only other fully bergisch subdivision completely within the Amt, which covered most of modern Cologne east of the Rhein (but not Deutz), the city of Bergisch Gladbach, and Gemeinde Odenthal.

 

Gericht Rösrath did not fall entirely within Amt Porz. Only the villages in Amt Porz are listed below—the rest were in Amt Lülsdorf. Three Gerichte in Amt Porz (Dünnwald, Paffrath, and Flittard-Stammheim) were administered jointly with subjects of the Imperial City of Cologne and so are placed in a country with the simplified name of Berg\Cologne.

 

Beginning in 1631, Gericht Odenthal became a hereditary Herrschaft within Amt Porz owned by the Metternich family. The original lord seems to have been a citizen of the Imperial City of Cologne, but he held lordships in the Archbishopric of Cologne and various Wittelsbachian entities. I think that given the geographic distribution of his lordships, it makes the most sense to use the simplified country name of Berg-Metternich for Odenthal.