Bern Switzerland Temple

Bern Switzerland Temple
Number	9	edit data
Dedication	11 September 1955 (11 September 1955) by David O. McKay
Site	7 acres (2.8 hectares)
Floor area	39,063 sq ft (3,629 m2)
Height	140 ft (43 m)
Preceded by	Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
Followed by	Los Angeles California Temple
Official website • News & Images
Additional Information Announcement 1 July 1952 Groundbreaking 5 August 1953 by David O. McKay Open House 9–10 September 1955 Rededication 23 November 1992 by Gordon B. Hinckley Current President Raimondo Castellani (2008) Designed by Edward O. Anderson Location Tempelstrasse 2 3052 Zollikofen Switzerland Phone number (41) 31-915-5252 Exterior finish Cream terra cotta Temple design Modern, single spire Ordinance rooms 4 with Movie, stationary sessions Sealing rooms 7 Clothing rental Yes Cafeteria Limited services Visitors'  center No Notes Bern was the first temple to present the endowment using a movie, necessitated by the multiple languages required to support the members in Europe.

Coordinates: 47°0′7.891200″N 7°27′29.67839″E / 47.002192°N 7.4582439972°E / 47.002192; 7.4582439972 The Bern Switzerland Temple (formerly the Swiss Temple) is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon or LDS Church). Though the building is located in Münchenbuchsee, its postal address is assigned to the neighboring municipality of Zollikofen. It was the first LDS temple to be built in Europe and the first to be built outside of the United States and Canada.

The 7-acre (2.8 ha) lot was selected in July 1952 by President David O. McKay and Samuel E. Bringhurst, then president of the Swiss-Austrian Mission. The architects were Edward O. Anderson and Wilhelm Zimmer. Groundbreaking and dedication of the lot were performed by President David O. McKay on 5 August, 1953. He dedicated the temple on 11 September, 1955. The temple was known as the "Swiss Temple" until the current naming convention for temples was adopted in the late 1990s.

The Bern Switzerland temple has 4 ordinance rooms, 7 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 35,546 square feet (3,302.3 m²).

The presentation of the Endowment was particularly challenging in this temple, because it was the first international one, requiring many different languages for its attendants. It was solved by using a film, dubbed in all required languages. Gordon B. Hinckley supervised the initial making of this film and was the person responsible for transporting the film to Switzerland.^[1] Since then all new temples have been equipped with recordings in lieu of live presentations by temple workers. Today, only the Manti Utah Temple and the Salt Lake Temple use live presentation instead of film.

After complete renewal of the interior, the temple was rededicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley on 23 October, 1992.

In connection with the fiftieth anniversary of its dedication, a 4 metres (13 ft) tall statue of the angel Moroni was erected on top of the tower on 7 September, 2005.

See also

• Temple (Latter Day Saints)
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by geographic region
• Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Temple architecture (Latter-day Saints)

Notes

External links

Media related to Bern Switzerland Temple at Wikimedia Commons

• Official LDS Bern Switzerland Temple page
• Bern Switzerland Temple page

v · d · eLatter-day Saint temples in Europe See also : Temples in other geographic regions Denmark Copenhagen Denmark Temple • Bern Switzerland • Copenhagen Denmark • Frankfurt Germany • The Hague Netherlands • Helsinki Finland • Kyiv Ukraine • Lisbon Portugal England • London • Madrid Spain • Paris France • Preston • Rome Italy • Stockholm Sweden •= Operating •= Construction •= Announced •= Closed England Preston England Temple · London England Temple Finland Helsinki Finland Temple France Paris France Temple (announced) Germany Frankfurt Germany Temple · Freiberg Germany Temple Italy Rome Italy Temple (under construction) Netherlands The Hague Netherlands Temple Portugal Lisbon Portugal Temple (announced) Spain Madrid Spain Temple Sweden Stockholm Sweden Temple Switzerland Bern Switzerland Temple Ukraine Kyiv Ukraine Temple