Temple history
Temple history
One sentence in the Neukölln town hall in 2005, a groundbreaking in 2007, an interim home in the wooden gymnasium next door, and on 7 June 2026 the Maha Kumbhabhishekam. Twenty-one years, one community, one temple.
One sentence in the Neukölln town hall in 2005, a groundbreaking in 2007, an interim home in the wooden gymnasium next door — and on 7 June 2026 the Maha Kumbhabhishekam. Twenty-one years of construction, funded entirely by donations and sevā.
Year by year
How we got here
No jumps, no fabrications — only the dates we remember.
Association founded in Neukölln
„Geben Sie mir einen Platz, und wir bauen einen“ — give me a place, and we will build one. With that sentence, Vilwanathan Krishnamurthy asks Heinz Buschkowsky, then district mayor of Neukölln (SPD), for a piece of land. Sri Ganesha Hindu Tempel e.V. Berlin is registered on 24 September 2005.First groundbreaking at Hasenheide
On 4 November, Mayor Buschkowsky and Krishnamurthy break ground together. The original plan envisaged 4,500 m² and €850,000; the project would later scale to 1,300 m² and around €1.1 million.Building permit and interim space
The building permit comes through; a second groundbreaking follows in September. The neighbouring Turnvater Jahn hall — a 19th-century wooden gymnasium — becomes the temple's interim home for the years ahead.Foundation and pillars
Construction visibly begins. Charitable status follows by certificate dated 30 June 2016 (tax no. 27/656/54813).First gopuram tower rises
Black granite from Tamil Nadu, hand-carved by Indian stonemasons, begins to show against the Hasenheide sky. In Britz, the smaller Sri-Mayurapathy-Murugan-Tempel had opened the year before as Berlin's first Hindu temple.Maha Kumbhabhishekam · temple complete
3–7 June: the five-day festival. On 7 June, water from the Ganges and from Berlin is poured by crane onto the spire of the 17-metre vimana. One of Europe's largest Hindu temples opens its doors.
What comes next
The next steps
Walk with the build, become a member, attend a pooja. Three doors, all open.