Hindu Temple Berlin: Germany’s largest Hindu temple, doors will open this Diwali

Vilavanathan Krishnamurthy can best be described as a happy-go-lucky person. About 20 years ago, the 70-year-old man started his voluntary work to build a Hindu temple in Berlin. Now, he stands proudly in Germany’s late summer sunshine. He is hopeful that a six-day mega temple inauguration ceremony can be held in November. We are waiting for the gods, he told DW with a smile.

Almost 20 years is a long time for a construction project, even in Berlin. But it also tells a lot about how so-called guest workers eventually became Berliners and why the German capital is becoming more religiously diverse. Krishnamurthy told DW how he came to West Berlin with his wife some 50 years ago and found work at the electrical company AEG for three German marks an hour. Then he established an institution for the purpose of temple construction. He said, this temple is a dream for me.

As a Hindu I can celebrate everything even at home, but I cannot celebrate it with other people. It needs a place to celebrate with others, with friends and enjoy doing so. The association is active since 2004 for the construction of Shree-Ganesh Hindu Temple. Soon afterwards, the district authority offered the association land on the edge of the Hasenheide park, between the districts of Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Tempelhof.