Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Unkel

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Country
  
Germany

District
  
Neuwied

Elevation
  
56 m (184 ft)

Area
  
8.16 km²

Population
  
4,993 (31 Dec 2008)

Dialling code
  
02224

State
  
Rhineland-Palatinate

Municipal assoc.
  
Unkel

Time zone
  
CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

Local time
  
Sunday 1:12 PM

Postal code
  
53572

Unkel

Weather
  
17°C, Wind NW at 11 km/h, 53% Humidity

Unkel is a town in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, near Remagen, about 20 km southeast of Bonn.

Contents

Map of Unkel, Germany

Unkel is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Unkel.

Religion

Unkel is mainly Roman Catholic. Approximately 55% of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic and 15% Protestant. 18% of the residents do not belong to a religious denomination, 8% are Muslim.

Location

The town is located at the edge of the Rhine-Westerwald Nature Park in the middle Rhine Valley, its centre is about 4 km away from the border to North Rhine-Westphalia.

Neighbouring settlements

Unkel is surrounded from north to south by the settlements of Rheinbreitbach, Bruchhausen, Windhagen, Linz, Erpel und Remagen.

Subdivisions

Unkel has three subdistricts: Unkel, Scheuren and Heister.

Sights

The most important sight is the "Freiligrathaus", which is located at the Rhine promenade. It is a baroque palace, built in 1760. Ferdinand Freiligrath lived there from 1839 until 1841.

The rich-featured Catholic parish church "St. Pantaleon" accommodates a feretory (a receptacle for the relics of saints). Additionally, most of the old town wall is well preserved.

Twin town

  • Kamen, Germany
  • Famous townsfolk

  • Willy Brandt, former Chancellor of Germany, spent the last years of his life, from 1979 until 1992, in Unkel. Many famous politicians visited him there, like Helmut Kohl and Mikhail Gorbachev. The market place is named after him. His work room can be visited on request.
  • Konrad Adenauer, who became first Chancellor of West Germany, found refuge in Unkel during the time of national socialism.
  • Fritz Henkel, the inventor of Persil (laundry detergent) and founder of the Henkel Company, had his summer home in Unkel. He donated a fire-brigade car and a park, which was named after him.
  • Ferdinand Freiligrath, a German writer, started his literary career in Unkel. The house he lived in is now called Freiligrathhaus.
  • Stefan Andres, author of the novella 'Wir sind Utopia'.
  • Leonhard Reinirkens, a writer, is honorary citizen of Unkel.
  • References

    Unkel Wikipedia