UENTROP, GERMANY, November 7, 2024 (Wa.de, Google translated from German): The Deities in and around the Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple have seen craftsmen come and go time and time again. But a major construction site practically at their feet is new. Demolition work began in mid-October. All of the front structures at the portal of the temple have been removed. “It looks exactly like it did in the early days,” says chief priest Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal. The way is now clear for something new, just as he planned in the early days. The demolition excavator has made way for a new face on Siegenbeck Street – called InnerMugappu. This includes a large, open entrance hall to the main portal, supported by columns in four rows, richly decorated like the smaller new portal of the Hindu Cultural Center.

The temple office is being built. The administrative headquarters of the Hindu Community of Germany was previously only housed in containers and contained the bare essentials. The new building will also include a conference room. A reception will be the contact point for believers and the many other visitors who come to Hamm every year to visit the largest Tamil temple and the second largest Hindu temple in Europe. The community sees itself as the central meeting place for German Hindus. The shoe room is also being renovated – the temple may only be entered barefoot (or in socks). The front structures were previously made largely of wood. After around two decades, wind and weather had taken their toll on the buildings. “Now everything is being built using solid construction,” says the priest. In principle, these buildings were planned from the beginning of the temple, which was inaugurated in 2002. “But there wasn’t enough money for it,” he explains. Like all of the community’s investments, the ongoing projects are also financed through donations and loans. The priest expects the new “face” to cost US$633,000.

More at source.
https://www.wa.de/hamm/uentrop-ort370525/goetter-an-der-grossbaustelle-neues-gesicht-fuer-hindu-tempel-in-uentrop-93396921.html

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