CREFELD or KREFELD, a town of Germany, in the Prussian Rhine province, on the left side of and 3 m. distant from the Rhine, 32 m. N.W. from Cologne, and 15 m. N.W. from Dusseldorf. Pop. (1933) 165,271. The town is one of the finest in the Rhine provinces, being well and regularly built. The inner section forms a large rectangle, enclosed by wide boulevards. This rare feature, is due to the fact that Crefeld was always an "open place," and therefore the circular form of a fortress town did not develop.
Crefeld is first mentioned in records of the 12th century. It received market rights in 1361 and the status of a town in It belonged to the counts of Mors, and was annexed to Prussia, with the countship, in 1702. It remained of little importance until the 17th century, when religious persecution drove to it a number of Calvinists and Separatists from Jillich and Berg who introduced the manufacture of linen. Immigration further in creased in the 18th century, when the silk industry was intro duced from Holland and the town rapidly developed. The French occupation in 1795 interfered for a time with the pros perity of its new trade which, however, grew in importance dur ing the 19th century. The town is famous for its technical schools which give instruction in textile manufactures. The Friedenskirche is Gothic in style. The town possesses a town hall and a museum. Among the public monuments there is one to Karl Wilhelm, the composer of Die Wacht am Rhein.
Crefeld specializes in silk and velvet manufactures. A special feature is the manufacture of silk for coverings for umbrellas. The other industries of the town, notably dyeing, stuff-printing and stamping, are very considerable, and there are also engineer ing and machine shops, chemical, soap and other factories. Crefeld is an important railway centre, and has direct com munication with Cologne, Rheydt, Miinchen-Gladbach and Hol land (via Zevenaar).