Cologne Central Mosque
| Cologne Central Mosque | |
|---|---|
Cologne Mosque in April 2015
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| Basic information | |
| Location |
Ehrenfeld, Cologne Germany |
| Geographic coordinates | 50°56′44″N 6°55′42″E / 50.94556°N 6.92833°E |
| Affiliation | Sunni Islam |
| Country | Germany |
| Website | www.ditib.de/ |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | |
| Architectural type | Mosque |
| Architectural style | Modern |
| Construction cost | €17-20 million |
The Cologne Central Mosque (German: DITIB-Zentralmoschee Köln, Turkish: Merkez-Camii) is a building commissioned by German Muslims of the Organization DITIB for a large, representative Zentralmoschee (central mosque) in Cologne, Germany. After some controversy, the project won the approval of Cologne's city council.
The mosque is designed in Ottoman architectural style, with glass walls, two minarets and a dome. The mosque is proposed to have a bazaar as well as other secular areas intended for interfaith interactions. As the mosque will be one of Europe's biggest, it has been criticized for its size, particularly the height of the minarets.
The 48,000-square-foot (4,500 m2) mosque will cost £15–20 million to build, aiming to house 2,000 to 4,000 worshippers. The proposed mosque will be funded by Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği (DITIB), a branch of the Turkish government's religious affairs authority, bank loans, and donations from 884 Muslim associations. Cologne's St. Theodore Catholic Church has also decided to fundraise for the mosque. The architect of the mosque is Paul Böhm, who specializes in building churches.
The planned mosque will be in the Ottoman architecture style. It will have a concrete and glass dome, and two 55 meter high minarets. The mosque will have the bazaar and entrance on the ground floor, lecture halls in the basement, the prayer area on the upper floor and include a Muslim library. A well is intended to be placed in the center to connect the two levels and to create a pleasant atmosphere. The mosque consists of flat-like wall screens which form a dome in the center.
It will also have glass walls, which according to DITIB spokesman Alboga will give visitors a feeling of openness. According to the architect, openness is further enhanced by an inviting staircase from the street. The developers have required that the secular areas of the mosque (e.g. the restaurant, event halls and stores) be open to people of all religions.
A plan welcomed by then mayor of Cologne Fritz Schramma to build shorter minerets was dropped after the architects said the plan would leave the minarets out of proportion with the rest of the building and surrounding structures. Construction of the opposed higher minerets will continue.
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