Catholic rectory um 1920

The catholic rectory has an excellent position on the wall above the river Rhine. The oldest reference to the rectory dates from 1420. Not only in 1522 had a thorough restoration been carried out, but also in 1685, due to the bad condition of the building Pastor Gottfried Eschenbrender initiated a second thorough restoration. In 1784 and 1845 the town wall below the rectory and the cemetery suffered major damage because of extreme floods. The first damage from 1784 could not be repaired until 1802 the time of Pastor Bachem after the horrendous war years. In 1845 the town wall collapsed, yet the rectory was spared. Pastor Bachem initiated the building of the extension as well as the service buildings. In 1945 another intensive renovation created today’s appearance.

Subsequently, in the attic, a large bunch of files was found, which contained Unkel’s history dating from the 16th century. These historical documents form the basis of Unkel’s town archive today.