Frei-religiöse Gemeinde Offenbach, Free religious community centre in Offenbach am Main, Germany

The Frei-religiöse Gemeinde Offenbach occupies three buildings in the city centre: the Weihehalle, the Jugendheim and the Gemeindeverwaltung. The tall rectangular front has a pale beige stucco facade and a dark low-pitched roof edged by a white cornice; high on the wall a grey panel carries a gold cross with a ring behind its arms. A lower white wing with a two-pane window steps back to the right.

On 9 March 1845, several hundred people led by Joseph Pirazzi signed the founding charter of a 'Catholic-Christian community', which soon called itself 'German-Catholic'. It was one of the first free-religious communities in Germany, prompted by Johannes Ronge's 1844 open letter against the Holy Robe exhibition in Trier. In 1863 the Darmstadt ministry granted it corporation rights, and in 1875 it received the right to levy taxes.

The community brings together people with different beliefs, from religious humanists to rationalists, who gather without fixed doctrines. This open approach shapes how the congregation uses its spaces and designs rituals that remain welcoming to many different ways of living.

The location is centrally positioned at Schillerplatz and easy to reach on foot. The facility offers extensive services for families and people in different life stages, with multiple spaces for various events and activities.

The community deliberately spells its name 'frei-religiös' rather than 'freireligiös', a choice it made to set itself apart from other free religious groups. It is the only free religious community in Germany to run daycare centres, offering 171 places since September 2006.