CREFELD, or Krefeld, a town of Germany, capital of a circle of the same name, in the province of Düsseldorf, twelve miles north-west of the town of that name, 125 feet above the sea. This town is one of the finest in Rhenish Prussia, being well and regularly built, while the surrounding fertile district is almost entirely laid out in gardens. It is the most important seat of the silk and velvet manufactures in Germany, and in this industry the greater part of the population of town and neighbourhood is employed. There are upwards of 200 silk factories, and large quantities of silk goods are exported, chiefly to the United States. The other industries of the town, especially cotton and woollen weaving, are very considerable, and about 2000 gardens in the neighbourhood give employment to a large number of workers. The manufactures to which Crefeld owes its prosperity were introduced by religious refugees from the neighbouring duchy of Juliers about the close of the 17th century. Population (1875), 62,905.