Kranenburg | |
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_COA.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Kranenburg within Kleve district  | |
 Location of Kranenburg | |
  Kranenburg  Kranenburg | |
| Coordinates:51°47′23″N6°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 | 76.89 km2 (29.69 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 21 m (69 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 11,380 |
| • Density | 148.0/km2 (383.3/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 (German pronunciation:[ˈkʁaːnənbʊʁk]) is a municipality in thedistrict of Cleves in the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany. It is located near the border with theNetherlands, 12 kilometres (7 mi) south-east ofNijmegen and 11 kilometres (7 mi) west ofCleves.
Since 1992, Kranenburg has evolved into acommuter town forNijmegen.[citation needed]
The village has always focused on the Dutch city ofNijmegen, and the local language wasDutch until far into the 19th century.[citation needed]
First records show that Kranenburg was founded in the 13th century by the Baron ofKleve. The first castle was built in 1270 and the first church a few years later byDietrichs 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 ofpilgrimage. 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 countyLand Kranenburg came into the possession of the von Kleve family line again, after it had been leased toGerhard I knight,Lord ofHorne andWeert, Lord of Perweys, Lord ofHerlaer, and later his son, the bishopDietrich. 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, GothicSt. Peter und Paul church. In 1436, theSt. Martins Priory was moved to Kranenburg from Zyfflich, followed in 1445/46 by the Augustinian women's nunneryKatharinenhof Kranenburg,[3] which was established in the Kranenburger Mühlenstraße as an axillary branch of theKlever Nunnery of Mount Sion (Schwesternhauses vomBerg Sion). After a fierce religious feud over the new prince bishop within the Münster Cathedral Chapter since 1450, the Kranenburger Treaty was signed in Kranenburg in 1457, assigningJohn II of Pfalz-Simmern as the new prince bishop.[4][5]
Multiple town fires and floods diminished the prosperity that Kranenburg had known during the Middle Ages. With the end of the hereditary lineage of theDuchy of Jülich-Kleve-Bergischen in 1609, county Kranenburg and the Duchy of Cleves became the property of lords ofBrandenburg-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 ofBrandenburg-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.
During theNapoleonic Wars and subsequent French occupation, Kranenburg was a separate canton within theRoerdépartement and temporary the most northern location of the Napoleonic Empire. At the same time, it however lost its town privileges.In 1802, the Order ofSt. Martin and theSt. 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 toKessel, was added to the administrative community of Kranenburg.Kranenburg remained a mainly agricultural community until far into the 20th century.
During the winter of 1944 -1945, the town of Kranenburg found itself in the middle of heavy fighting. In the nearbyKlever Reichswald and the surroundings of the nowadays village of Kranenburg, Operation Veritable, also known as theBattle of the Reichswald took place. Taking place from 8 February till 11 March 1945, Operation Veritable was a part of General Dwight Eisenhower's "broad front" strategy to occupy the west bank of theRhine, before attempting any crossing, conquest of theRuhrgebiet 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 of theRoer dams, 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 theUrft. The river rose at two feet an hour and the valley downstream to theMeuse stayed flooded for about two weeks.
After the Second World War, the counties of Wyler and Zyfflich were added to the administrative community Kranenburg. After the 1stNorth Rhine Westphalia Communal Reformation Program (1. kommunalen Neugliederungsprogramm) of 1 July 1969, the country of Kranenburg existed out of the communities of:[6]
At present day, the community of Kranenburg is a border town within a Europe "without borders". With the introduction theEuropean Union and subsequentEU internal market without boundaries, many Dutch moved from the Netherlands to Kranenburg in Germany, attracted by economic motives, e.g. low real estate prices/ taxes. This resulted in a massive influx increase of more than 200% between 1992 and 2008, growing the total population of the small community dramatically. Although, German authorities suggest diplomatically to "steer" this influx by "handing out permits selectively", migration away from the area by its original German citizens, and "enclave formation" of "Dutch-only" clusters is already observed.[7] This, according to international publications of theCentre for Border Research (NCBR) of the nearby locatedUniversity of Nijmegen, is mainly caused by the refusal of the Dutch migrants to integrate/ participate in German society.[8][9] Based on their observations, the investigators conclude that 100% of the life of these Dutch migrants lies across the border in the Netherlands, although their residence lies in Germany, solely out of financial motives. Hence, for example Dutch parents selectively send their children to Dutch schools, Dutch physicians and hospitals are visited, Dutch sporting and social organisations are joined, Dutch media are read, watched, and listened to. Many do not speak the German language, and don't make any effort to acquire German language skills. Illustratively, the Dutch are reported "to drive back to the Netherlands to buy a jar of peanut butter".[9]
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 indeedlegislation. In 2012, the Dutch political climate, and the apparent support of Dutch Prime MinisterMark Rutte, was discussed and condemned by the European Union.[11][12] Since 2023 national election, this has become more apparent with theright-wing tofar-rightParty for Freedom (PVV), led byGeert Wilders, known for hisright-wing populism,anti-immigration,opposition to Islam andEuroscepticism.,[13] becoming thelargest governing party in Dutch Parliament.
Dutch legislation, theIntegration law for immigrants to the Netherlands Act, obliges migrants entering the Netherlands to integrate into Dutch society.[14][15] 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][16][17] 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.[18] After the draft and enforcement of a double tax treaty between the Netherlands and Germany,[19] many Dutch have migrated back to the Netherlands following cultural and financial changes.[20]
Media related toKranenburg at Wikimedia Commons
Towns and municipalities inKleve (district) | ||
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