|
The first Hindu temple, which was inaugurated by Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka, was the Sri Sithi Vinayakar temple in Basel in 1986. Initially squeezed in a basement room, at long last the temple board was able to move the deities to more spacious options in a converted warehouse. There, proper shrines made of brick were built and the gods and goddesses ritually installed. |
|
The main deity of the temple had been Sri Sithi Vinayakar. As Vinayakar (Tamil), in Sanskrit named Ganesha, is the remover of all obstructions and prayed to before starting new enterprises, the name was well chosen as the first Tamil Hindu temple in Switzerland. Due to an increase of the rent, the temple closed in summer 2004 and merged with the two other temples existent since the late 1990s in Basel. |
|
Details from the richly decorated dome-shaped roof of Sri Sithi Vinayakar's shrine. Easy to recognize is Vinayakar respectively Ganesha with his elephant head. |
|
The temple had also a spacious room to perform weddings. In the back, we see the traditionally styled marriage baldachin in front of which the bridal pair sat and the rituals were performed. |
|
The Sri Sivasubramaniar temple found its early beginning in a converted warehouse in 1994. It is situated in an industrial are in the village of Adliswil, 20 minutes drive from the city of Zurich. |
|
Only few outward signs point to the religious nature of the building. The plate above the entrance gives the temple's name in Tamil and in western letters. |
|
Inside the temple, a South Asian environment and atmosphere makes one forget to be actually in Switzerland. Here, the priest conducts the honouring of the gods in front of the shrine for Shiva. |
|
The temple is one of the spacious-wide biggest among the Hindu temples in Switzerland. Due to media interest and the performance of public processions during the annual temple festival, the temple can claim to be the best known, both among Tamil immigrants and - if having an interest at all - the general Swiss public. |
|
Every last Saturday of a month a special puja (Tam.: pucai) is done for Sri Iyappan. Iyappan mythologically is the son of Shiva and Mohini and is venerated by some Tamil visitors in particular. The god is honoured with the ritual of abhisheka, offerings of light and then being taken around the main shrine. |
