FRONHOF

The former Fronhof of the Cologne foundation Sankt Maria ad Gradus,

„Our Lady of the Steps“, is in its basic structure the oldest building alongside the catholic parish church tower. In 1059, Pope Nikolaus II. took this foundation under his protection. At that time Archbishop Anno II. had the Fronhof built to manage the extended vineyards in and around Unkel. These vineyards made up most of the agricultural land. Around 1550, when Unkel was fortified with walls and moats, the Fronhof was integrated as the northwestern corner post. The coat of arms - the palatine imperial orb and the inscription „FRONHOFF CAP(itu)LI AD GRADUS - can be seen in the archway at the Von-Werner-Straße“. The religious foundation had significant rights including its own jurisdiction.

Yet, over the centuries, other monasteries, foreign aristocrats and Unkel landowners achieved greater importance. Through the secularization of clerical goods in 1803 the Fronhof fell into the hands of a string of private proprietors. Georg, Baron von Hilgers, son of the Neuwied County Commissioner Philipp von Hilgers, converted the building and the tower for residential use in 1844/45. In 1913, Elisabeth von Werner bought the building and had it redesigned in a typical turn of the century style. Her daughter Ilse and son-in-law Rudolf Wulfertange (1884-1974), sculptor, painter and writer, lived here for many years. The journalist and writer Günter Wallraff acquired the property from their heirs in 1996.