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. 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.

Geography

Location

The town is located at the edge of the Rhine-Westerwald Nature Park in the middle of the 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, and 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

Famous townsfolk