Kranenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia

Infobox German Location
Art =
Name = Kranenburg
Wappen = Wappen Kranenburg Niederrhein.jpg
lat_deg = 51 |lat_min = 47 |lat_sec = 23
lon_deg = 6 |lon_min = 0 |lon_sec = 26
Lageplan =
Bundesland = North Rhine-Westphalia
Regierungsbezirk = Düsseldorf
Kreis = Kleve
Höhe = 21
Fläche = 76.96
Einwohner = 9888
Stand = 2006-10-17
PLZ = 47559
Vorwahl = 0 28 26 und 0 28 21
Kfz = KLE
Gemeindeschlüssel = 05 1 54 040
Gliederung = 9
Adresse = Klever Straße 4
47559 Kranenburg
Website = [http://www.kranenburg.de/ www.kranenburg.de]
Bürgermeister = Günter Steins
Partei = CDU

Kranenburg is a municipality in the district of Cleves in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, convert|12|km|mi|0|lk=on south-east of Nijmegen and convert|11|km|mi|0 west of Cleves.Since 1992, Kranenburg has evolved into a commuter town for Nijmegen because of lower real estate prices and a generally lower cost of living. The city has always focussed on the Dutch city of Nijmegen, and the local language was Dutch until far into the 19^th century.

Towns and villages in the municipality

* Kranenburg (Kranenburg)
* Nütterden
* Schottheide
* Mehr (Kranenburg)
* Frasselt
* Zyfflich
* Wyler
* Niel (Kranenburg)
* Grafwegen

History

Middleages

First records show that Kranenburg was officially founded in the 1300s by the Baron of Kleve. The first castle was build in 1270 and the first church a few years later. In 1294 the village got the rights of a city. In 1308 a mysterious cross was found. According to legend, a boy went in to the forest after church and spit out his communion wafer. After a while he felt guilty and confessed to the pastor. Together they went back into the forest to find the wafer. At the tree where he had spit it out, the cross now stood. From that point on, Kranenburg became a place of pilgrimage.