Audrey Thronson '23 | Three Religions, One House

After being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, construction on Berlin’s House of One, a church-mosque-synagogue, will begin May 27th.

        In 2011, leaders from the three major Abrahamic religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - came together with a revolutionary concept: a multifaith center in the heart of Berlin. The initiators of the project, Protestant Minister Gregor Hohberg, Rabbi Andreas Nachama and Imam Kadir Sanci, envision a community hub that will facilitate interfaith dialogue and promote the peaceful coexistence of the three faiths. The House of One will be situated on Berlin’s Petriplatz, the site of the 800-year-old Petrikirche, the first church in Berlin. The church was damaged during World War II, and was fully demolished by the East German government. The House of One will be built above the Petrikirche’s foundations, allowing for further archeological excavations. Originally, the foundation stone was to be laid Apr. 14, 2020, the anniversary of the 1783 premiere of Lessing's drama "Nathan the Wise," which promoted peaceful relations between religions. The foundation stone will now be laid May 27, 2021, and construction is expected to be complete in late 2022 or early 2023.

Founders of the project (from left to right): Minister Gregor Hohberg, Rabbi Andreas Nachama and Imam Kadir Sanci

In 2012, the House of One planning committee held an international architecture competition to design the first-of-its-kind structure. Berlin architecture firm Kuehn Malvezzi won the competition with its simplistic design that draws upon the faiths’ common architectural roots. The building will be constructed out of yellow clinker bricks, and will comprise of a church, a synagogue, a mosque, a central meeting hall, an archeology area, and a rooftop balcony. The central meeting hall is intended to facilitate interfaith dialogue, with the help of art, culture, academic research, and speaker events. An interactive tour of the floorplan is available on the House of One’s website, and photos of the design are available on Kuehn Malvezzi’s portfolio. 

Conceptual design for the House of One

The project is expected to cost 47 million euros. As of Dec. 17th, 2020, the majority of the funding for the project was secured. The Bundestag has committed 20 million euros to the project, and the state of Berlin has contributed 10 million euros. Private donations have amounted to 9 million euros. The remaining gap of 8 million euros is expected to be met through global online donation campaigns, including a “donate a brick” fundraiser.

Not everyone has confidence in the project’s ability to bring the faiths together, though. Skeptics note that the founders of the project are considered outsiders within their religions, so other members of their faith may not be as interested in interfaith dialogue. Furthermore, some observers question whether attendees will embrace using the central hall for its intended purpose of promoting religious tolerance.

Whether the House of One lives up to the founders’ expectations is unclear for the time being. However, even the suggestion of this project has opened up a conversation about how to begin building interfaith understanding, which the founders consider a step in the right direction.