House of Religions - Dialogue of Cultures

The House of Religions – Dialogue of Cultures is an interfaith institution and cultural center in Bern, Switzerland. Its principal purpose is to provide religious communities with suitable worship and community spaces while creating regular opportunities for encounters among people of different faiths and cultural backgrounds. Rather than presenting religion as a single blended tradition, the project places distinct communities in one architectural and organizational setting, allowing them to maintain their own practices while participating in a common public dialogue. The initiative emerged in Bern during the 2000s, when civic and religious participants began developing plans for a center involving Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions. The association Haus der Religionen – Dialog der Kulturen was established on 25 April 2002. A major institutional step followed in March 2006 with the creation of the Stiftung Europaplatz, a foundation responsible for helping assemble the financing and wider development framework for the project. The City of Bern approved planning in April 2007. The project was delayed several times, but construction finally began with a groundbreaking ceremony on 27 June 2012. The completed complex is located at Europaplatz in the Ausserholligen area of western Bern. It combines the House of Religions with a much larger mixed-use development containing apartments, shops, catering facilities, offices, and public infrastructure. The overall building has approximately 30,000 square metres of floor area, while the House of Religions occupies the part dedicated to sacred spaces, dialogue, cultural activity, and related services. Its transport connections include Bern's suburban rail, tram and bus networks, placing the center within easy reach of the city center. The building opened to the public on 14 December 2014. The opening brought together thousands of visitors and marked the start of a public cultural program. Five communities had dedicated worship spaces at the opening, representing Alevi, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions. Jewish, Bahá’í, and Sikh communities were also associated with the project as dialogue partners or members of the operating association, although they did not all establish dedicated rooms. The participating communities use spaces including an Alevi meeting and prayer room, Christian facilities, a Buddhist room, a Hindu temple, and a mosque. The mosque and Hindu temple are among the largest sacred areas in the building. A central dialogue area and shared public facilities connect the faith communities. These include exhibition, course, event, and meeting spaces, as well as the Vanakam restaurant, which serves as a social meeting point and offers vegetarian and culturally varied food. The center's programming addresses religion, migration, culture, spirituality, social coexistence, and the everyday realities of pluralistic communities. Courses, talks, exhibitions, performances, religious events, and opportunities for informal exchange are part of its public role. The institution's stated approach is based on human dignity, tolerance, mutual respect, and the conviction that knowledge of other traditions can reduce stereotypes. Its architecture is intended to balance openness and autonomy: sacred spaces are accessible through shared dialogue zones, while individual communities retain rooms in which they can worship and organize privately. The House of Religions therefore functions both as a collection of religious venues and as a civic platform for intercultural exchange. It is not a commercial consumer brand, but an institutional identity associated with interfaith cooperation in Bern and Switzerland.

The House of Religions project developed from discussions in Bern during the 2000s about creating a permanent setting in which several religious traditions could worship, organize community life, and meet the wider public. The original concept included Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions. It was conceived as both a practical response to the lack of suitable rooms for some communities and a cultural initiative intended to encourage familiarity across religious boundaries. The association Haus der Religionen – Dialog der Kulturen was established on 25 April 2002. During the following years, the project brought together religious communities, civic supporters, and cultural participants. In March 2006, the Stiftung Europaplatz was created to raise funds and support the development of the planned building. The foundation's work covered the wider project, including sacred interiors and facilities for communities such as Hindus, Buddhists, Alevis, and Christian organizations in the canton of Bern. Participation was not identical across all traditions. The Jewish community of Bern and the Bahá’í community supported the idea but did not initially seek dedicated rooms. An Islamic association that had taken part in early discussions later withdrew, while the Muslim association Hochfeldstrasse expressed interest in participating. These changes illustrate that the House of Religions was assembled through negotiation among independent communities rather than through a single religious authority. The City of Bern granted planning permission in April 2007. The development was designed as a substantial mixed-use complex at Europaplatz in Bern-Ausserholligen, with approximately 30,000 square metres of floor area. In addition to the House of Religions, it includes 88 apartments, shops, restaurants and other catering facilities, offices, and public infrastructure. The location was selected in part for its strong transport connections to suburban rail, tram, bus routes, the motorway network, and central Bern. Construction was delayed several times before the groundbreaking ceremony on 27 June 2012. The building was inaugurated on 14 December 2014. The opening ceremony attracted thousands of visitors and introduced a facility in which Alevi, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist communities could hold their own religious activities while remaining connected through shared dialogue areas. Jewish, Bahá’í, and Sikh communities were also linked to the association and its dialogue work. The completed institution contains worship and community spaces of different sizes. The mosque and Hindu temple are among the largest facilities. The Buddhist space was designed as an inclusive room suitable for different Buddhist currents, with a simple interior and a Buddha sculpture from Thailand. The Alevi facilities include a prayer and meeting room, a small ritual fire area, a children's corner, a library, and space for religious instruction. The Hindu facilities were planned around South Indian temple forms and included provision for shrines, seminars, yoga, meditation, and language and cultural education. Christian participation developed through the group Kirche im Haus der Religionen. The building also contains public rooms for exhibitions, courses, events, and meetings. The shared dialogue zones are central to the institution's identity: they allow people to encounter religious communities without eliminating the boundaries between their traditions. The Vanakam restaurant provides an everyday social setting and has offered varied vegetarian food, including Ayurvedic-oriented meals. A public cultural program began around the opening and continued through the following months. The House of Religions presents itself as a center for dialogue rather than as a new unified religion. Its underlying principles include the dignity of every person, tolerance, and mutual respect. Its organizers argue that direct contact, shared cultural activity, and access to information about religious practices can challenge prejudice and make religious diversity a lived civic experience. The institution remains active as a Bern-based platform for worship, education, cultural programming, and interfaith exchange.

• 2014

  Public inauguration

  [1]House of Religionsen.wikipedia.org

  The House of Religions was inaugurated and opened to the public on 14 December at Europaplatz.

• 2012

  Groundbreaking ceremony

  [1]House of Religionsen.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on 27 June after several delays to the project.

• 2007

  Planning permission granted

  [1]House of Religionsen.wikipedia.org

  The City of Bern approved planning for the mixed-use development containing the House of Religions.

• 2006

  Creation of Stiftung Europaplatz

  [1]House of Religionsen.wikipedia.org

  A foundation was established to raise funds and support the development of the Europaplatz complex and its religious facilities.

• 2002

  Founding of the project association

  [1]House of Religionsen.wikipedia.org

  The association Haus der Religionen – Dialog der Kulturen was established on 25 April to organize and advance the interfaith center project in Bern.

A civic and religious platform for interfaith encounter, cultural education, and peaceful coexistence, combining distinct worship communities with shared public spaces in one accessible Bern institution.

• Cultural and educational programming · 2014

  Interfaith dialogue program

  Talks, courses, exhibitions, events, and public encounters designed to improve understanding among religious and cultural communities. The program treats dialogue as an ongoing civic practice and complements, rather than replaces, the communities' independent religious activities.

• Religious spaces · 2014

  Shared worship and community facilities

  The building houses dedicated or community-specific facilities for Alevi, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu participants, including a mosque, Hindu temple, Buddhist room, Alevi prayer and meeting room, and Christian facilities. Jewish, Bahá’í, and Sikh communities participate as dialogue partners or association members.

• Restaurant and hospitality · 2014

  Vanakam

  A restaurant and informal meeting place within the complex. It supports everyday interaction among visitors and communities and is associated with varied vegetarian and culturally influenced food offerings, including Ayurvedic-oriented meals.

• Education and community services · 2014

  Religious education and cultural facilities

  Shared and community-linked rooms support seminars, religious instruction, yoga, meditation, language learning, children's activities, exhibitions, and other forms of cultural education.

• 2014

  Open the House of Religions to the publicProduct launch

  Background

  After planning, fundraising, delays, and construction, the interfaith facility was ready to begin operations in the Europaplatz complex.

  Action taken

  The building was inaugurated on 14 December 2014, opening worship, dialogue, cultural, educational, and hospitality facilities to communities and visitors.

  Aftermath

  The opening launched a public program and established the center as a visible Bern platform for interfaith and intercultural engagement.

  Source

• 2002

  Create a multi-faith institution rather than separate community projectsStrategy

  Background

  Several religious communities in Bern needed suitable rooms, while the project organizers also sought to create a durable setting for intercultural and interfaith exchange.

  Action taken

  The association adopted a shared-building model in which distinct religious spaces would be connected by common dialogue and cultural areas.

  Aftermath

  The model led to the development and eventual opening of the House of Religions at Europaplatz, with participating communities retaining their own worship practices.

  Source

1. 1House of Religionsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official website of the House of Religionshaus-der-religionen.ch