THE HOUSE OF ONE

The planned venue for the House of One is a former car park in the centre of Berlin, surrounded by large busy roads. As part of the plans, the building will include a sacred space for each of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions. The rooms will be designed to meet the interests of the three religious groups. A fourth room, which will form the centre of the building, will be a space for inter-faith dialogue as well as for those who don’t practise a particular religion.

The planned site for the building is Petriplatz - a significant location in Berlin’s early history. Archeological digs here have unearthed numerous relics from old churches and an old town hall, as well as documents that date back to the year 1237. Until 1964, Petriplatz was the site of the Protestant church of St Peter, which was demolished by order of the former East German government. After the fall of the Wall, the Berlin Senate provided the community with financial compensation for this, and the site was made public property.

The “House of One” project is a collaboration between the Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, representing the Muslim side, the Jewish community of Berlin, St. Peter's church and the Abraham Geiger College at the University of Potsdam. In June 2014, a fundraising campaign was launched to finance the construction of the building. Once the first ten million euros have been raised, the building’s foundation will be laid.