Old vicarage Bechen

It is not known why the rectory built by Altenberg Abbey in 1715 next to St. Anthony's Church (the old location of today's Caritas home) burned down in 1872. However, as this left the priest homeless, a new rectory was built between 1876 and 1879 in the Osbachtal valley, opposite today's Catholic church on the L 310 to Altenberg, approx. 200 meters down the valley as a typical Bergisch half-timbered house. A spacious, terraced garden originally stretched across the entire meadow from the country road down to the house. However, it was cut back to its current size; it was too high-maintenance at the time. The estate, popularly known as "Ahl Pastorat", was inhabited by the priests of Bechen until the 1970s.

With well over 200 square meters of living space, the house was oversized; it was occupied at most by the priest and his domestic help, with only occasional visits from clergy friends. It was therefore not surprising that Father Joseph Höfer and his housekeeper, Mrs. Berg, moved into a much smaller granny apartment at ground level in the building complex directly next to the church. Since then, the Alte Pastorat has stood empty for many years. At the end of the 1980s, it was rented by the Sozialdienst Katholischer Männer Köln (SKM). From then until the mid-1990s, the building was used to house long-term addicts, who had already been re-socialized to such an extent that attempts were made to reintegrate them into society here in Bechen.

There had already been a renovation backlog since the last pastor moved out, and now the formerly attractive property was once again empty and falling into disrepair. The parish of Bechen was forced to sell the property on a leasehold basis, otherwise it would only have been a matter of time before the fabric of the building fell into irreparable disrepair. The buyer should preferably be a citizen of Bechen and know the building and its history. Ideally, it should be someone who could be trusted to carry out a proper and professional renovation to preserve or restore the building to its original condition.

Looking at the residential complex today, including the outside and courtyard areas, it can only be described as an absolute stroke of luck that the married couple Sabine and Hanno Koch, both veterans of Bechen, acquired the Old Pastorate on a leasehold basis in 1999. With a great deal of love, patience and expertise, the timber-framed interior was restored to its former state. Due to the large number of people living there and their caregivers, the Social Service of Catholic Men Cologne (SKM) had only created functional room layouts, with no regard for the old half-timbering, doors, wall paneling, authentic building materials, etc...

In addition to restoring the building to its original half-timbered state, Mr. and Mrs. Koch paid attention to ecological yet modern construction methods, combined with new heating, plumbing and electrical installations. Master gardener Koch designed the outdoor area with a natural hedge border and terraced garden to match the building. The typical Bergisch slate cladding was also renewed or repaired.

A truly successful rescue of a historic building and old building fabric that is second to none!