31st Protestant Church Building Conference: Realities and Paths

On September 11, the 31st Protestant Church Building Conference 2025 will open its doors in Berlin. Until September 13, architects, theologians, representatives of church building associations, friends of open churches, building authorities and monument preservationists, sociologists, students from various disciplines, and people who care deeply about church buildings throughout the country will discuss the ups and downs of church buildings, transformation, and social responsibility.

Over 500 people from Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland will meet for excursions, discussions, workshops, and talks on the topics of "Needs and Realities," "Partnerships for Use," and "Participation" at the Villa and St. Elisabeth Church Conference Center, as well as at the Catholic Academy in Berlin, the Faculty of Theology at Humboldt University, Zion Church, and Sophienkirche in Berlin-Mitte.

The Church Building Day, which takes place every three years at a different location, is back in Berlin for the first time since 1957. It is supported in terms of content and organization by the Cultural Office of the Council of the EKD and takes place in cooperation with the Federal Foundation for Building Culture, the German National Committee for Monument Protection (DNK) – Cultural Heritage in Motion, the Catholic Academy in Berlin, and the Elisabeth Cultural Office. The media partner is zeitzeichen – Protestant commentaries on religion and society.

The program is available at kirchbautag.de and is further enriched by the exhibition "Kirche für Alle!" (Church for All!) with models by students from the Technical University of Berlin, Institute of Architecture (IfA), Department of Architecture of Transformation.

The press release from the Cultural Office of the Council of the EKD can be found in the appendix.

Photo © Marco Lösekrug