BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandi

About BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandi

Hindu temple

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, commonly known as the Neasden Temple, is a Hindu temple in Neasden in north-west London and Europe's first traditional Hindu stone temple, built entirely using traditional methods and materials, as distinct from converted secular buildings; it has been described as Britain's first authentic Hindu temple and was, when it opened, the largest outside India. It was built of Italian marble and Bulgarian limestone carved in India and assembled in London, and was inaugurated by the BAPS leader Pramukh Swami Maharaj on 20 August 1995. Besides the temple the complex includes a permanent exhibition entitled "Understanding Hinduism", which explains Hindu beliefs and traditions to visitors, and a cultural centre housing an assembly hall, gymnasium, bookshop and offices; it receives thousands of visitors a year from schools, tourists and lovers of architecture. For Muslim visitors the temple is an architectural and cultural landmark reflecting London's diversity and the skill of traditional Indian stone carving, visited to look and learn without taking part in worship.

Where:

London, United Kingdom