The Baha'i House of Worship in Germany

The House of Worship in Hofheim-Langenhain in Germany is the first of its kind in Europe, was inaugurated on July 4th, 1964. In her dedication address, Ruhiyyih Khanum, widow of Shoghi Effendi, said: This building is dedicated to the three fundamental truths of the Baha’I Religion: the oneness of God, the oneness of His Messengers and the oneness of mankind. Its doors are open to individuals of all religious persuasions, to all races, all ethnic groups, and all social classes. Within its walls will be heard not only prayers and scripture of our own religion, but also those of other great revealed religions of the world. We believe that these Holy Writings represent the treasure houses of the eternal basic truths, which God has revealed at different times for the guidance, and salvation of the entire human race.

The Faith of Baha’u’llah has no clergy. Baha’is believe it is the responsibility of each individual to conduct his or her own personal search for truth based on the immediate, unadulterated and unobscured Word of God. Consequently, in the House of Worship reading and chanting of Holy Scriptures from the world’s revealed religions is free of interpretation or elaboration through additional text or commentary.

Shoghi Effendi gave instructions in 1953 to build the first European House of Worship near Frankfurt am Main. A decisive factor in the choice of the location was this city’s central location with respect to both Germany and Europe as a whole.

A competition to design the House of Worship had already taken place in 1954. Following careful scrutiny of all proposals submitted by the nineteen participating architects, the design by a young Frankfurt based architect named Teuto Rocholl was selected.

The basic requirements for the structure of a House of Worship had been formulated by ‘Abdu’l Baha…….The Mashriqu’l Adhkar, which is to be erected over a central floor plan, …must have nine sides, doors, fountains, paths, gateways, columns and gardens, with the ground floor, galleries and domes, and in design and construction it must be beautiful…

The House of Worship was built using a steel concrete skeletal (exposed concrete) construction. The reconstructed steel concrete ribs were assembled on site and fixed in place with poured steel concrete rings brought into place at the lower and upper extremities of the ribs.

After three and a half years of construction, Europe’s first Baha’I House of Worship was dedicated in July 1964.

In 1987, the House of worship was declared a cultural monument by the State of Hesse (i.e. the State incorporating the City of Frankfurt and its environs).

In November 2006, I visited the Baha’i House of Worship in Germany and I enjoyed the spiritual atmosphere and I read a prayer for unity.