Thun
Johanneskirche
Building data
Denomination | Evangelical Reformed
Building type | Church
Year of construction | 1966 – 1967
Architect | Küenzi, Werner
Town, canton | Thun, BE
Street address | Waldheimstrasse 33
GPS | 46.74354, 7.62159
Google Maps | Swisstopo
Reuse
Year of reuse | 2016/
Ownership | Unchanged
Building interventions | Unchanged
Form of use | Unchanged
Type of use | Church
Brief information | The sale planned for 2016 was prevented by opposition from the parish.
Further information | see below
Status of information
Entry created | 2017/08
Entry last updated | 2024/02
Further information
The St John’s Church in Thun was built between 1965 and 1967 by the architect Werner Künzi. In addition to the church, the parish centre comprises a cafeteria with a kitchen, a large hall with a stage, and various classrooms. St John’s Church is the largest of the five churches belonging to the parish of Strättligen. This rectangular concrete building is visible from afar thanks to its slender, imposing tower, which houses three bells and features a simple black clock face. The building is characterised by its windows with strict geometric lines, arranged vertically. These allow abundant natural light to flood into the interior spaces.
A group of committed individuals founded the ‘Pro Kirche Strättligen’ association and acted following the announcement that St John’s Church was to undergo a renovation estimated at five million francs. In August 2016, the Parish Council (KKR) decided to put the church up for sale due to the excessive renovation costs and to cease its use for religious purposes by the end of 2018. The association then opposed this decision and collected over 10,000 signatures to have the decision overturned. In April, the ‘Pro Johanneskirche’ initiative was approved by Thun’s voters with 57.2 per cent of the vote.
Consequently, in July 2018, the KKR commissioned a building specialist to analyse the renovation requirements. In addition, a survey of attendance figures at all places of worship in Thun was carried out to take the situation of Thun’s other parishes into account as well. In early 2021, the Strättligen parish council and the KKR presented their proposal regarding the St John’s Church. However, the association felt that too many questions remained unanswered. The association’s committee found the argument that no funds were available for renovation to be implausible but was willing to discuss the matter and seek new partners to ensure the church’s long-term future. A working group was was then tasked with finding a responsible organisation. Through increased lettings, the plan was to generate higher rental income to renovate the building whilst keeping it in use until 2028.
In April 2021, however, the KKR decided that, given its poor condition, St John’s Church could no longer be let to third parties in the future, which brought discussions on expanded use to an end. In autumn 2021, the KKR even ordered the closure of St John’s Church at the end of 2022, unless a managing body could be found by by September 2022. The Strättligen parish refused to approve this decision. A dispute also arose over the issue of deconsecration and, consequently, the transfer of St John’s Church from the administrative estate to the financial estate. According to the KKR, without deconsecration, it would be impossible to continue operating St John’s Church in the long term, as the renovation costs would be colossal. As no agreement could be reached, the Strättligen parish council resigned en masse at the end of 2022.