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After Church President Spencer W. Kimball announced a temple for Frankfurt, Germany, on April 1, 1981, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sought land for the temple on 14 different sites in West Germany. Land in Germany was difficult to obtain at the time, but the Church hoped to acquire a site in Friedrichsdorf, Frankfurt, which held an abandoned noodle factory.
Karl Günther Petry, one of the Friedrichsdorf City Council members at the time, traveled with his political allies to Bern, Switzerland, to see the temple there and learn more about the Church in order to inform their decision on the construction of the Frankfurt Germany Temple. After a warm welcome by the local Latter-day Saints and glowing recommendations from other local denominations, the group decided to approve the temple.
“We returned with the conviction that we would be right to allow the Mormons to build their temple here,” he told the Church News nearly 40 years later. “... I have no regrets about the temple at all.”
With the city council’s approval, ground was broken on the future site of the Frankfurt Germany Temple on July 1, 1985.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony. He told the faithful German Latter-day Saints at the event that it was a “day of prophecy fulfilled, a day of prayers answered, a day of dreams come true.”
A total of 12,570 Church members from Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and France attended the dedication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple from Aug. 28-30, 1987.
“We had a wonderful, warm feeling inside that is hard to explain,” said Michael Gruse of the Dahlem Ward, Berlin Stake, and one of the thousands of Europeans who were blessed by the new house of the Lord.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Thy restored word was first taught in this nation 146 years ago. Since then, tens of thousands of missionaries, at untold sacrifice, have borne testimony to the people of Europe. Hundreds of thousands have responded to their message. How grateful we are to be counted among that number. This city, where stands this holy house, has for centuries shown tolerance for those seeking freedom to worship according to the dictates of conscience. We thank Thee for the hospitality of those of this community who have welcomed Thy people and Thy temple.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Frankfurt Germany Temple here.
The temple closed Sept. 7, 2015, for major renovations, and although the renovations were initially expected to take just under two years, the temple wasn’t fully completed until September 2019.
Just before the temple reopened in 2019, Juleen Metzner, wife of Frankfurt Germany Stake President Manuel Metzner, said, “I hope we will never take this blessing for granted,” adding, “We are absolutely thrilled to have our temple back!”
Karl Günther Petry, one of the Friedrichsdorf City Council members who approved the temple site acquisition in the early 1980s, still served on the city council at the time of the temple’s rededication.
“I find it more beautiful than it was before,” he said after touring the renovated temple. “The baptistry is very different. I find it much prettier. The landscaping is wonderful. It’s a successful central point of Friedrichsdorf.”
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who served as a stake president in Frankfurt when the temple was first dedicated, rededicated the temple on Oct. 20, 2019. During his time as stake president, he set apart and released a young full-time missionary in Frankfurt named Mark Harth, who would later serve as the stake president of the Friedrichsdorf Germany Stake.
“It is a very special gift from God to us that we are able to hear and listen to the words of an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ in our native language,” President Harth said at the Frankfurt temple rededication.
Elder Uchtdorf also spoke of the rededication as a special blessing, saying the temple “is a place of unity for those who are members of the Church, in that they come and unite again with the teachings of Jesus Christ. So for Germany to have this temple in its heart, in this location, is a marvelous and wonderful thing.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “O Father, bless Thy people, that this day of celebration and worship might be a new beginning in building up Thy kingdom. The divine blessings of the restored gospel are desperately needed in the nations of the world. Open the windows of heaven, and shower down upon the Saints and all people of good intentions an increased desire to seek goodness at all times and in all places and then to do it. Renew their willingness to love Thee and their fellow men and to always keep Thy commandments.”
Read the rededication prayer of the Frankfurt Germany Temple here.
Church President Spencer W. Kimball announced a temple for Frankfurt, Germany, in a press conference on April 1, 1981, three days before April 1981 general conference.
Ground was broken for the temple on July 1, 1985. President Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, presided over the event.
The public was invited to tour the completed house of the Lord from July 29 to Aug. 8, 1987. More than 70,000 visitors toured the temple during its open house.
The Frankfurt Germany Temple was dedicated by Church President Ezra Taft Benson on Aug. 28, 1987. President Benson presided over three dedicatory sessions that day, and President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency, presided over eight following sessions on Aug. 29 and 30.
The temple closed for major renovations on Sept. 7, 2015. Although initially expected to take just under two years, the renovations lasted until September 2019.
Once renovations were complete, the renovated house of the Lord was open to the public during its open house period from Sept. 13 through Sept. 28, 2019. Nearly 29,000 visitors toured the building during this time.
The Frankfurt Germany Temple was rededicated on Oct. 20, 2019. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the rededication.
A temple for Frankfurt, Germany, was first announced in a press conference on April 1, 1981. The groundbreaking ceremony for the temple was held July 1, 1985. More than 70,000 visitors toured the completed house of the Lord from July 29 to Aug. 8, 1987. The Frankfurt Germany Temple was dedicated Aug. 28, 1987.
It was then closed for major renovations on Sept. 7, 2015. Once renovations were completed, another open house for the temple was held from Sept. 13 through Sept. 28, 2019. The rededication for the Frankfurt Germany Temple was held Oct. 20, 2019.
The Frankfurt Germany Temple was built from white granite with a copper roof and features one isolated spire on the ground near the front entrance.
A small grass field on the temple grounds doubles as a park that many neighbors of the temple frequent. Rooms inside the temple include four ordinance rooms and five sealing rooms.
The temple was renovated from Sept. 7, 2015, through September 2019. Although initially expected to take no more than two years, the temple was gutted because of structural issues in the foundation. The baptistry was removed and replaced with a much larger one underground the outside walls of the temple. The only features of the original temple that were retained throughout the renovations were the outer walls of white granite, the copper roof and the stained-glass windows.
1 April 1981
28 August 1987
20 October 2019
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This was the second Latter-day Saint temple in Germany’s current country boundaries.
Before the Church obtained the temple site, a final meeting with the 37 members of the Friedrichsdorf City Council was held to decide the fate of the temple. Despite opposition from some community members and organizations, 21 of the 37 council members voted in favor of the temple, two more than were needed for the site to be sold to the Church.
An old home on the temple grounds was renovated to serve as a temple president and matron residence when the temple was initially built. An annual Christmas celebration is held each year in the home, which Karl Günther Petry, one of the Friedrichsdorf City Council members who approved the temple site acquisition in the early 1980s, attends every year, along with others who made that decision. “I like it better than any other Christmas celebration in Germany,” Petry said.
During a VIP dinner with Church leaders before the temple open house, Friedrichsdorf Mayor Gerd Schmidt said that the Latter-day Saints reminded him of the Huguenots, a group that came to Friedrichsdorf 300 years earlier seeking religious freedom. He said that the community’s willingness to accept the temple “is a modern version of religious tolerance that should prevail among mankind.”
A police officer assigned to direct traffic for the open house was so impressed with the temple that he went back to his police station and invited his co-workers to attend the open house.
When West and East Germany were unified in 1990, the unified Germany became home to both the Frankfurt and Freiberg temples, which made Germany the third country to house more than one temple, after the United States and Canada.
During the original open house in 1987, a national German television network asked President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, president of the Frankfurt Germany Stake and chairman of the temple committee, to do a live interview, originally planned to be only two minutes. Later, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Uchtdorf learned that many Church members were praying for him during the nine-minute interview, during which he shared the Church’s beliefs and the purpose of temples.
A year after the temple was dedicated, the new Friedrichsdorf mayor approached Elder Uchtdorf and said that because the temple was already such a success, the city wanted the Church to buy another plot of land and build a missionary training center.
Elder Uchtdorf, who rededicated the Frankfurt Germany Temple, also chaired the committee that organized the temple’s original open house and dedication in 1984, when he was the Frankfurt Germany Stake president.
Elder Michael Cziesla, a Europe Area Seventy at the time of the temple’s rededication, also volunteered with the original open house and dedication when he was 15 years old. He was in charge of placing plastic protective coverings on the attendees’ shoes.
Hanno Luschin served as the temple’s project manager for both its original construction and its renovation.
Four Presidents or eventual Presidents of the Church participated in the events of the Frankfurt Germany Temple — President Spencer W. Kimball announced the temple; President Gordon B. Hinckley presided over the groundbreaking ceremony; and Presidents Ezra Taft Benson and Thomas S. Monson presided over the original dedicatory sessions of the temple.
This was the second Latter-day Saint temple in Germany’s current country boundaries.
Before the Church obtained the temple site, a final meeting with the 37 members of the Friedrichsdorf City Council was held to decide the fate of the temple. Despite opposition from some community members and organizations, 21 of the 37 council members voted in favor of the temple, two more than were needed for the site to be sold to the Church.
An old home on the temple grounds was renovated to serve as a temple president and matron residence when the temple was initially built. An annual Christmas celebration is held each year in the home, which Karl Günther Petry, one of the Friedrichsdorf City Council members who approved the temple site acquisition in the early 1980s, attends every year, along with others who made that decision. “I like it better than any other Christmas celebration in Germany,” Petry said.
During a VIP dinner with Church leaders before the temple open house, Friedrichsdorf Mayor Gerd Schmidt said that the Latter-day Saints reminded him of the Huguenots, a group that came to Friedrichsdorf 300 years earlier seeking religious freedom. He said that the community’s willingness to accept the temple “is a modern version of religious tolerance that should prevail among mankind.”
A police officer assigned to direct traffic for the open house was so impressed with the temple that he went back to his police station and invited his co-workers to attend the open house.
When West and East Germany were unified in 1990, the unified Germany became home to both the Frankfurt and Freiberg temples, which made Germany the third country to house more than one temple, after the United States and Canada.
During the original open house in 1987, a national German television network asked President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, president of the Frankfurt Germany Stake and chairman of the temple committee, to do a live interview, originally planned to be only two minutes. Later, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Uchtdorf learned that many Church members were praying for him during the nine-minute interview, during which he shared the Church’s beliefs and the purpose of temples.
A year after the temple was dedicated, the new Friedrichsdorf mayor approached Elder Uchtdorf and said that because the temple was already such a success, the city wanted the Church to buy another plot of land and build a missionary training center.
Elder Uchtdorf, who rededicated the Frankfurt Germany Temple, also chaired the committee that organized the temple’s original open house and dedication in 1984, when he was the Frankfurt Germany Stake president.
Elder Michael Cziesla, a Europe Area Seventy at the time of the temple’s rededication, also volunteered with the original open house and dedication when he was 15 years old. He was in charge of placing plastic protective coverings on the attendees’ shoes.
Hanno Luschin served as the temple’s project manager for both its original construction and its renovation.
Four Presidents or eventual Presidents of the Church participated in the events of the Frankfurt Germany Temple — President Spencer W. Kimball announced the temple; President Gordon B. Hinckley presided over the groundbreaking ceremony; and Presidents Ezra Taft Benson and Thomas S. Monson presided over the original dedicatory sessions of the temple.
