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More New Buildings than Demolitions

New buildings statistics for the Protestant Church

July 8, 2009

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has presented its building figures for 2006 in the 6th edition of its brochure "Facts and Figures on Church Life". It contains statistics on all churches, chapels and parish centers owned by Protestant churches as at 1 January 2006, and other preaching places in which Protestant congregations of EKD-member churches regularly meet for worship.

Such a survey was last held on 31.12.94. The 2006 survey for the first time covered all Protestant churches and chapels no longer used for worship, rented to outsiders for their own purposes, sold or demolished. The cut-off day for the change of usage was 1 January 1990.

In all, the survey counted 20,857 churches and chapels and 3641 parish centers, with 16,276 churches and 351 parish centers being listed as heritage buildings. There are a disproportionately high number of churches and chapels in the eastern German member churches. 94 percent of them are listed buildings. The number of changes of usage since 1991 is relatively low in view of total numbers: 41 repurposed, 26 rented out, 97 sold and 46 demolished. In addition, particularly in the eastern German churches there are 130 churches that are no longer used, 79 on the grounds of dereliction. During the same period 75 new churches and 296 parish centers with integrated worship space were built, making 340 churches abandoned over against 371 new places of worship.

21,361 churches and chapels are used for regular Protestant services of EKD-member church congregations, 701 of which are not the property of the Protestant Church but belong to the municipalities or the Catholic Church.

For further information contact the EKD Church Office, Statistics Desk, Tel. 0511/2796- 359, E-Mail: statistik@ekd.de.

Hanover, 09 July 2009

EKD Press Office
Reinhard Mawick