At the place where a church was once torn down by the communist rulers of East Germany, a new multi-faith house of worship, called the “House of One”, is now set to rise from the ashes, according to plans drawn up by Berlin architects Kuehn Malvezzi.
The foundation stone of the House of One, dubbed the "churmosquagogue", due to its multi-faith structure, will be ceremonially laid on May 27, 2021 and will kick-start the construction of the new multi-faith centre. The construction is expected to last around four years and cost approximately 47 million euros.
The design incorporates a church, a mosque and a synagogue, with each worship space being linked to a central common meeting place. The idea is for it to become a place for people from all faiths, or indeed those who are not religious, to come together and hold discussions and events in the multi-faith area.
Known for being particularly secular, Berlin is a special place for this sort of project, and will be a good testing ground. While most religious and local people are now on board with the project, and excitedly await the House of One’s construction, there were some initial concerns.
The plan took 10 years to develop, with concerns initially raised that the project was potentially aiming to make a new religion, or that people would be mixing religions, but after years of talks, most people seem satisfied that the plan is a good one.
The House of One will be built on the site of the former St Peter’s church in Petriplatz, and has received 30 million euros of funding from the federal government and the state of Berlin. Another nine million euros has been raised through donations and fundraising.
Since December 2020, the project has been campaigning for funding once again, and it is expected that this final fundraising push will bring in the remaining eight million euros needed to meet the total cost of construction.
For more information about the plans and the people behind the project, visit the House of One website.