Villa Henkel um 1949

The Düsseldorf entrepreneur Fritz Henkel Junior (1875-1913), well-known for the successful development of chemical products (for example „Persil“), purchased the huge estate with the mansion, gardener‘s- and coach house as well as the park in the north of Unkel in the middle of World War I from Elisabeth von Werner. Fritz Henkel was very concerned about the nutrition of his employees and workers. Thus, he used large areas for the cultivation of vegetables, which were regularly transported in lorries to Düsseldorf. He visited the mansion quite often, because he felt very much at ease here in Unkel and became a generous patron for the town. He equipped the volunteer fire department with a modern hose and other tools. He had a sports field built for Unkel’s youth. Not a single town fair took place without a generous donation from Fritz Henkel. Considerable replanting in the park stems from Henkel. From 1925 till 1927 he enlarged the premises to an area of 1700 useable squaremetres. After his sudden death in 1930 the Henkel family and later their heirs, the Bagel family, used the property intensively. American troops confiscated the premises in 1945. The interior of the mansion was destroyed by a penal battalion. At the founding of the Federal Government and the Federal Council in 1949 the main building was hurriedly renovated and temporarily served as „Länderhaus/“Federal States House“. Many decisive consultations and resolutions took place here. As no permanent economic usage was possible and the huge mansion did not comply with housing needs, the main building was demolished in 1960 and replaced by a bungalow. Fritz Bagel (1933-2021), a grandson of Fritz Henkel Junior, continued the tradition of his grandfather as a generous supporter of Unkel. Regular cultural events still take place in the palm house. Sadly only after Fritz Bagel’s death was the recreation centre in the „Ilse-Bagel-Park“ (former „Henkelpark“) completed.