Berlin’s House of One, when completed, will be the spiritual equivalent of the confederation of Switzerland, which has four main linguistic and cultural regions. The House of One will bring together three different faiths under one roof: a church, a synagogue and a mosque. The concept of a house of worship shared by Christians, Jews and Muslims is a “first” in the world. It is the hope of the project’s initiators that the House of One will eventually tear down the walls between religions just as the fall of Berlin Wall removed the barriers between East and West Berlin a quarter of a century ago.
What the House of One will look like
Plans have already been drawn. Berlin architect Wilfried Kuehn of Kuehn Malvezzi GmbH designed an interfaith prayer house that has three separate sections. A communal room in the center of the building will link the three areas and seat 380 people. Each of the worship areas will be the same in size but of different shape, allowing each religion to keep its own identity.
Originators of The House of One
The three men now heading the House of One project are: Pastor Gregor Hohberg, Rabbi Tovia Ben Chorin, and Imam Kadir Sanci.
Protestant pastor Gregor Hohberg of Berlin’s St. Marienkirche (St. Mary’s) first conceived of the idea of an interfaith house of worship when a 2009 redevelopment excavation unearthed the ruins of Berlin’s very first church. That archaeological discovery pointed to fragments of the foundation of St. Petri (St. Peters), built in the 13th century. The church was named after St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen. St. Petri had already been destroyed and rebuilt several times when the communist government of East Germany decided to demolish the church altogether in the 1960s. Currently, a parking lot occupies the space.
Location of the House of One
Once built, the House of One will be located at the Petriplatz (Petri Square) in the historical birthplace of Berlin between Breite Strasse and Gertraudenstrasse. In medieval times, the square was not located in the historical center of Berlin but that of Coelln, Berlin’s sister city. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/coelln-and-berlin/
Funding of House of One
The religious leaders are still in the process of raising funds for the construction of the House of One. The goal is to raise 43 million euros and to finance the project entirely through crowdfunding, by selling bricks for €10 each. http://house-of-one.org/en So far, one million euros have been raised. Construction is to begin in earnest once the first €10,000,000 has been raised.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
