A brand new Hindu temple opened its doors in the town of Brzegi, on the outskirts of Kraków, during a ceremony attended by local dignitaries and the Ambassador of India Nagma Mohamed Mallick.

The Radha Govind Bhakti Yog Mandir has been under construction for the last five years. Besides serving a growing local Hindu community, the freshly inaugurated site aims at spreading knowledge about India’s cultural and spiritual heritage.

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The mayor of Brzegi, Artur Kozioł, took part in the opening ceremony. He rejoiced about the finalisation of the project and declared that “each of us in the world builds their home according to their own culture, religion, tradition, what they have in their heart”.

“Today I want to emphasise how important your presence in this place is too […] You built a house in keeping with your own belief and faith, what you carry in your heart, and now together we are getting to know and understand each other and jointly seeking peace in these troubled times” – he continued, as quoted by Gazeta Krakowska.  

The building is equipped with several rooms for yoga and meditation, a small shop, a library, and a vast garden. The construction of the temple started in early 2017. 

As Dziennik Polski reports, an incident slowed the construction process down, namely an act of vandalism perpetrated by a 23-year-old local. The latter set a part of the building on fire. Fortunately, the material losses were not significant.

The completion of the temple was initially scheduled for 2020 but was eventually delayed, among others, due to epidemiological restrictions. 

Image: Twitter (@indiansinpoland)

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen