Prison tower 1994

The prison tower was the southwestern corner of the town fortification of Unkel. The arrangement of town wall, towers, gates and ditches dates from around 1550. As early as 1547 Unkel agreed upon a defensive and offensive alliance with its neighbouring towns. Erpel, not officially a ‘town’ at the time, had nevertheless been properly fortified. This could have been the same for Unkel. The first documentary evidence dates from 1578, when Unkel belonged to the “Kurkölnische“ Conference of Cities and Towns. A strong, high wall was built facing the river Rhine to scare off enemies as well as protect against flooding. The prison tower had a very specific role, namely, it should serve as an icebreaker. In former centuries the Rhine froze over quite frequently. The breaking ice could become very dangerous in sudden thaw periods. Therefore, the south wall of the prison tower was extended with 1.2 metres horizontal basalt columns. Up to the 17th century the prison tower had an open wall-walk as well as a pointed cone roof. Around 1650 a more effective artillery made it militarily redundant. The prison tower was thus not further maintained and the upper part decayed. A lower baroque-style closed roof, a so called “welsche Haube“, was put on the prison tower around 1700. The need for a prison was based on Unkel having been a place of jurisdiction. The prisoners’ cell inside was shut with a heavy wooden door. The prisoners were served through a small hatch. The dangerous criminals were kept in an 8 metres deep dungeon. The base of the prison tower is constructed so solidly that the ground remains dry even during flooding periods. For a long time, the tower was not used and fell into a “deep sleep”. Only for the 1100-year celebration (in 1986) did the tourist association and local Unkel craftsmen begin to renovate the tower and make it accessible to the public. Certifications, scripts, border stones and sculptures are presented in a small museum. The members of the “Geschichtsverein” offer regular summer opening hours for visitors.

Night-time walks through Unkel with the watchman include the most spectacular stop at the prison tower. The last prisoner to be hanged was Anton Kühlwetter.