Kranenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia

Kranenburg
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Kranenburg within Kleve district
Kranenburg Show map of Germany Kranenburg Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°47′23″N 6°0′26″E / 51.78972°N 6.00722°E / 51.78972; 6.00722
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Düsseldorf
District	Kleve
Subdivisions	9
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Ferdi Böhmer[1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	76.96 km2 (29.71 sq mi)
Elevation	21 m (69 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	11,181
• Density	150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	47559
Dialling codes	0 28 26 und 0 28 21
Vehicle registration	KLE
Website	www.kranenburg.de

Kranenburg is a town and municipality in the

.

Since 1992, Kranenburg has evolved into a commuter town for Nijmegen.^{[citation needed]}

The village has always focused on the Dutch city of Nijmegen, and the local language was Dutch until far into the 19th century.^{[citation needed]}

Towns and villages in the municipality

• Kranenburg
• Nütterden
• Schottheide
• Mehr, including Zelem Castle
• Frasselt
• Zyfflich
• Wyler
• Niel
• Grafwegen

History

Middle Ages

First records show that Kranenburg was founded in the 13th century by the Baron of Kleve. The first castle was built in 1270 and the first church a few years later by Dietrichs Luf von Kleve († 1277). In 1294, the village raised to the status of town. In 1308 "The Miraculous Trinity" ("Wundertätige Dreifaltigkeit") was found, establishing Kranenburg as a place of pilgrimage. According to legend, a one-legged priest went into the forest after church and a divine revelation came upon him. Overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit, the priest fell asleep under a tree. The next day, he woke up to find that God had given him two additional legs. At the tree where he had slept, the Miraculous Trinity now stands, functioning as a memorial to the now three-legged priest.

In 1370, the county

. During this time the town got its first fortifications. At the end of the 15th century, a new castle, substantial stone fortifications with 2 gates and an unknown number of towers were erected. The southernmost of these towers acted as the town windmill (Stadtwindmühle). The town bloomed most prosperously during the first half of the 15th century, which resulted in the construction of the large, Gothic

Early Renaissance

Multiple town fires and floods diminished the prosperity that Kranenburg had known during the Middle Ages. With the end of the hereditary lineage of the Duchy of Jülich-Kleve-Bergischen in 1609, county Kranenburg and the Duchy of Cleves became the property of lords of Brandenburg-Prussia. In 1675, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) gave Kranenburg to his personal physician, Arnold Fey. After his death in 1678, Kranenburg returned into the possession of the family of Brandenburg-Prussia. Around 1650, the "reformed congregation" of Kranenburg was founded, and got a small church in 1723. The historic town hall was destroyed completely by fire in 1789. In 1800, the then derelict town gates were demolished.

19th and 20th century

During the

and temporary the most northern location of the Napoleonic Empire. At the same time, it however lost its town privileges. In 1802, the Order of St. Martin and the St. Catherine convent became secular. After the Vienna Convention, the counties of Kranenburg, Nütterden und Frasselt-Schottheide grounded the community (Bürgermeisterei) of Kranenburg. Later, in 1936, Grafwegen, that previously belonged to Kessel, was added to the administrative community of Kranenburg. Kranenburg remained a mainly agricultural community until far into the 20th century.

Kranenburg during World War II

Operations Veritable and Blockbuster

(yellow) and Grenade (green)

During the winter of 1944 -1945, the town of Kranenburg found itself in the middle of heavy fighting. In the nearby

industrial area, and eventual push towards Berlin. Veritable was originally called Valediction and had been planned originally for execution in early January, 1945. One day after the start of Operation Veritable on the 8th, the Germans blew the gates out of the largest Roer dam, sending water surging down the valley. The next day they added to the flooding by doing the same to dams further up stream on the Roer and the stayed flooded for about two weeks.

Modern-day Kranenburg

After the Second World War, the counties of Wyler and Zyfflich were added to the administrative community Kranenburg. After the 1st

• Kranenburg
• Nütterden
• Frasselt
• Schottheide
• Grafwegen
• Mehr
• Niel
• Wyler
• Zyfflich

At present day, the community of Kranenburg is a border town within a Europe "without borders". With the introduction the

In their conclusions, the authors observe that this refusal of the Dutch to integrate, participate, and contribute to their new German community contrasts strongly with the current Dutch public opinion,[10] political climate, or indeed legislation. The Dutch political climate, and the apparent support of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, was recently discussed and condemned by the European Union.^[11][12] Dutch legislation, the Integration law for immigrants to the Netherlands Act obliges migrants entering the Netherlands to integrate into Dutch society.^[13][14] To measure this, migrants are subjected to courses and a final exam, determining the migrants' ability to speak the Dutch language and general knowledge of Dutch society. Failure to pass the exam (e.g. inability to speak Dutch) results in expulsion. Participation in this exam is only required of non-EU nationals.^[10][15][16] Although public sentiments and opinions vary considerably, as for the whole EEC territory, the German conditions of residence for non EU nationals are very similar to those in the Netherlands.^[17]

Gallery

• 
  Kranenburg, catholic church: Pfarrkirche Kranenburg
• 
  Kranenburg, tower: the Mühlenturm
• 
  Nütterden, catholic church: Pfarrkirche
• 
  Frasselt, catholic church: Pfarrkirche Frasselt
• 
  Niel, church: Sankt Bonifatiuskirche
• 
  Wyler, catholic church: Pfarrkirche Wyler
• 
  Zyfflich, church: Sankt Martinskirche

Notable people

Born in Kranenburg

• Alexander von Spaen (1619-1692), Prussian field marshal

References

External links

Media related to Kranenburg at Wikimedia Commons