County of Moers

The County of Moers (German: Grafschaft Moers, Dutch: Graafschap Meurs) was a historical princely territory on the left bank of the Lower Rhine that included the towns of Moers and Krefeld as well as the surrounding villages and regions.

County of Moers
Grafschaft Moers
before 1160–1798
Coat of arms of Moers, Mörß, Mors, Murs
Coat of arms
  County of Moers in 1648
StatusCounty
CapitalMoerser Schloss
Common languagesDutch, Cleverländisch
Religion
Roman-Catholic, from 1560 Protestant
GovernmentCounty,
from 1706 Principality
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
before 1160
• Disestablished
1798
Area
c. 1800[1]180 km2 (69 sq mi)
Population
• c. 1800[1]
38,000 [1]
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Ruhrgau
Roer (department)

History
Map of the Principality of Moers (Meurs) in 1730 between Duisburg (Duysburg) on the right and Geldern (Gelder) on the left

The House of Moers went extinct in 1578, after which the county was claimed by the House of Orange-Nassau as well as the Duchy of Cleves. On the extinction of Orange-Nassau in 1702, the County of Moers was acquired by the Kingdom of Prussia, and elevated to a principality on 6 May 1705. Although the county was legally dissolved as far back as 1797/1801, the names of communal institutions and local firms often incorporate the word Grafschafter ("comital") which harks back to the County of Moers.

Footnotes

    References
    1. Gerhard Köbler: Historisches Lexikon der deutschen Länder. Die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Munich, 1995, p. 390.

    Literature
    • Hermann Altgelt: Geschichte der Grafen und Herren von Moers. Düsseldorf, 1845.
    • Karl Hirschberg: Historische Reise durch die Grafschaft Moers von der Römerzeit bis zur Jahrhundertwende, Verlag Steiger, Moers, 1975
    • Gerhard Köbler: Historisches Lexikon der deutschen Länder. Die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Beck, Munich, 1995, ISBN 3-406-39858-8.
    • Theodor Joseph Lacomblet: Urkundenbuch für die Geschichte des Niederrheins oder des Erzstifts Cöln, der Fürstenthümer Jülich und Berg, Geldern, Meurs, Cleve und Mark, und der Reichsstifte Elten, Essen und Werden. From sources in the Royal Provincial Archives of Düsseldorf and in the Church and Municipal Archives of the Province, Vol. 4, J. Wolf, 1858.
    • Guido Rotthoff: Zu den frühen Generationen der Herren und Grafen von Moers. In: Annalen des Historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein. (AnnHVNdrh) 200, 1997, pp. 9–22.
    • Margret Wensky: Moers Die Geschichte der Stadt von der Frühzeit bis zur Gegenwart. In: Von der preußischen Zeit bis zur Gegenwart. 2. Band, 2000, Böhlau Verlag, Cologne, Weimar, Vienna. ISBN 3-412-04600-0.
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