Amt Schönforst

The Schönforst lordship emerged from the prior Schönau lordship as a fief of the Electorate of Cologne in the mid 14th century. It was seated in Schönforst castle, which was located in a narrow strip of land bordered by the Imperial City of Aachen and the Abbacies of Burtscheid and Kornelimünster (the latter of which it temporarily administered). However, the Duchy of Jülich took the castle by force in 1396 and converted the lordship into an Amt that consisted of one significant village and some forest land. Between 1650 and 1674, the Amt was administered by Kornelimünster.