Zons

Zonsé is a town and seat of the Zonsé Department of Boulgou Province in south-eastern Burkina Faso.

Zons ( ), formerly known as Feste Zons (Fortress Zons), today officially called Stadt Zons (Zons Town) is an old town in Germany on the west bank of the Lower Rhine between Cologne and Düsseldorf. It has been a part (Stadtteil) of the town of Dormagen since 1975. In 2020 its population was 5,452. ===Middle Ages=== The first time Zons was mentioned in a document is in the so-called last will and testament of Cunibert, Bishop of Cologne, which was written in the middle of the seventh century but is only known in a version of the late eleventh century. In the document the names of Zuonizo or Zuonize are mentioned with their origin still unclear until today. In a deed of gift of Archbishop Heribert of Cologne the name of Zons appears in a location reference, „Burgula bei Zünce“ (Burgula near Zünce)., Burgula being the site of today's Haus Bürgel, an old mansion built on the ruins of a Roman settlement. Archaeological finds indicate that there was a Merovingian settlement in Zons in the seventh century, yet its exact location is not determined. Documents verify a Fronhof of the archbishop of Cologne (Fronhof = estate of a feudal lord receiving socage) existing in Zons at least since the beginning of the twelfth century . In the 1980s archaeological excavations in the castle area uncovered foundations of buildings which are regarded as remains of the proprietary church of the lord of the manor which was part of the building complex of the Fronhof. At about the middle of the thirteenth century Zons castrum (castle) was fortified. The location of the older rural settlement of Zons can only be presumed based on field-names and topography. The field-name „Im Hofstädtchen“ at today's Aldenhovenstraße near the Old Town could reference to this settlement with the crossing paths at this spot being a possible additional indicator. In 1372 the Archbishop of Cologne Friedrich III von Saarwerden moved the Rhine toll castle from Neuss upstream to Zons protecting it with walls and moats and granting Zons the town privileges in 1373. At the centre of the fortress was the thick fortified Friedestrom Castle which served the administration and protection of the toll and housed the administration of the new parish Zons. The obviously planned building of the toll fortress with town walls was finished probably in the 15th century. The rectangular to trapeziform town layout is surrounded by a wall strengthened with basalt stones. The wall stretches in north–south direction over about and in west–east direction over . At the corners are towers built in different shapes: to the northeast the rectangular Rhein-, Zoll- or Peters-Turm (Rhine, Toll or Peters Tower); to the northwest the circular Krötschenturm (Krötschen Tower); to the southwest the circular Mühlenturm (Mill Tower), which was converted from a defensive tower to a tower mill as late as the Late Middle Ages; to the southeast the Schlossturm (Palace Tower) and in town at the castle wall the circular Juddeturm (Judde Tower: high, roof starts at height, baroque roof ). The name Juddeturm probably refers to the patrician family Jude in Cologne. Two public gates gave access to the town: in the north the Rheintor (Rhine Gate), in the west the Feldtor (Field Gate). During the 19th century the first was partly, the latter almost entirely dismantled. A third outer gate, the Südtor (South Gate), which is preserved best, is the entrance from the zwinger (enclosed killing ground) to the Vorburg (lower ward). The small town had only 124 plots for houses. The parish Zons comprised also the village Stürzelberg, part of the village Horrem and the village of Haus Bürgel, which is nowadays located on the opposite banks of the river Rhine. Regarding church and court of justice matters Haus Bürgel and Zons originally belonged together. The canon law for the parish Bürgel/Zons was governed by Brauweiler Abbey. Already in 1374 Bürgel was moved from the west banks to east banks of the Rhine, probably due to a shift of the river. Zons, the Rhine toll town of the Prince-elector of Cologne is regarded as one of the best preserved Lower Rhine planned towns of the Late Middle Ages. Until 1794 the parish Zons belonged to the Electorate of Cologne and was bordered in the south by Dormagen, an enclave ruled by the Duchy of Jülich; in the south-west by Hackenbroich, a lordship within the Electorate of Cologne; in the west by Nievenheim, a parish within the Electorate of Cologne; in the north-west by Uedesheim, another lordship within the Electorate of Cologne. On the opposite banks of the Rhine were Urdenbach and Baumberg, Honschaften (lowest level administrative units similar to hundreds in England and Wales) within the Duchy of Berg. File:Zons_Rheintor_v_N.JPG|Rheintor (Rhine Gate) with Zollturm (Toll Tower) in the northeast File:Zons_Friedestrom_v_W.JPG|Gate tower of Friedestrom Castle File:Zons_TurmMuehle.JPG|Mühlenturm (Mill Tower) in the southwest File:Zons_TurmKroetschen.JPG|Krötschenturm (Krötschen Tower) in the northwest File:Zons, Juddeturm 2008 a.JPG|Juddeturm (Judde Tower) File:Zons_SouthGate.JPG|Südtor (South Gate) File:Zons,_Pfefferbüchsen_(eine_von_zwei)_2008_c.JPG|Bartizan on the eastern town wall; in German popularly called Pfefferbüchse (Pepper pot) File:Zons_StMartinu_from_South.JPG|Parish church St. Martinus

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378483186 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.