Town Fortification Zons

The first documented mention of Zons, then as Zuonizo or Zuonice, is found in a late 11th-century version of Bishop Kunibert of Cologne's 7th-century will. Archaeological finds indicate a Merovingian settlement. A manor of the Archbishop of Cologne has been documented since the early 12th century. Around the mid-13th century, the site was fortified into a "castrum". In 1372, Archbishop Friedrich III von Saarwerden of Cologne relocated the Rhine customs from Neuss to Zons, which led to the construction of fortifications with walls and moats and the granting of town rights in 1373.