Unterzell Abbey

In the wake of the Hep-Hep riots in 1819, many yeshiva students and other Jews fled from Würzburg to the surrounding area, including to Theilheim near Werneck to Rabbi Mendel Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum, with others, acquired the former monastery and moved there with his family and Lazarus Bergmann in 1822. Together with some of the fleeing Würzburgers, they founded a new Jewish community there and subsequently also a Talmud school. In addition to his livelihood as a cattle and merchandise dealer, Rosenbaum established a colonial goods trade and a nail forge in Unterzell. From 1825, Bergmann managed the nail forge. After his aliyah with his wife and children in 1834, Rosenbaum's eldest son Moses Rosenbaum continued it.

Rosenbaum's economic ventures in Unterzell, along with the high-speed printing press factory of Friedrich Koenig (1774–1833) and Andreas Bauer (1783–1860) located in Oberzell, were decisive in Oberzell and Unterzell being merged as Zell am Main in 1833 and receiving market rights.

An air raid on March 31, 1945 – after the bombing of Würzburg on March 16, 1945 – destroyed the monastery and church. The monastery church remained a ruin, while the monastery building was converted into apartments in the post-war period.

The owners of the church property were the former farmer Heinrich Weckesser, his daughter, and her husband. Weckesser, by his own account, was born in the choir, which was then used as living space. As the vault over the nave was in danger of collapsing, the Würzburg District Office issued a demolition order to the owners dated December 7, 1966. Weckesser informed the head of the building department of the District Office, Regierungsrat Hans-Joachim Wachsmuth, that he would not comply with the demolition order; as a pensioner, he could not afford the demolition costs. Wachsmuth suggested he consider selling the church ruin. The buyer could then cover the demolition costs. Wachsmuth thought of the Protestant church as a possible interested party.