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. Modern Era In 1463 Archbishop of Cologne Dietrich II. of Moers mortgaged town and parish Zons to the cathedral chapter of Cologne. Its reign lasted until 1794, when the French Revolutionary Army occupied the territory west of the Rhine. Zons became a French municipality and canton. From 1798 to 1814 it was part of the canton Dormagen within the Arrondissement de Cologne which belonged to the Département de la Roer. With the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801 the occupied territory on the left bank of the Rhine came to France under public international law. As result of the Congress of Vienna Zons became part of the Prussian State in 1815. The following year the district Neuss was set up with the Bürgermeisterei Zons (an administrative level similar to an Amt) which comprised the municipalities of Zons, Nachtigall, St. Peter and Stürzelberg. In 1882 the district Neuss became part of the Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf in the Rhine Province. Since about 1900 Zons has been a popular destination for pleasure trips. In 1904 the municipality Zons was granted its own coat of arms. Since then Zons was called again „Town”, despite the fact that it still belonged to the Prussian rural municipalities regarding administrative law. With the incorporation into the town limits of Dormagen with effect of 1 Januar 1975 Zons called itself „Feste“ (Fortress). In 1992 Zons again gained the description „Town”, though only as Titularstadt (titular town). Already in 1972 the whole Old Town underwent an extensive renovation in an exemplary project sponsored by Federal State and Federated State.