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German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann highlighted the growing people-to-people ties between India and Germany, citing the newly built Sri Ganesha Temple in Berlin's Neukolln, which opened on June 8, as a symbol of the vibrant Indian community in the country.
Speaking to ANI, Ackermann said that he recently visited the temple, which he mentioned as the tallest Hindu temple in Europe, and met several Indians who had studied in Germany and gone on to build successful careers. He said, " I just came back from Berlin, and I saw the new Hindu temple in Berlin, which is the tallest in Europe. I'm very proud to say that the Gopuram is taller than any other Hindu temple. It's very beautiful. It's a sort of Tamil-style beautiful South Indian temple." Ackermann said he interacted with many members of the Indian community at the temple, many of whom had pursued higher education in Germany before finding employment. He said, "I spoke with many Indians who came to the temple to pray, and many of them had studied in Germany, and all of them got a good job afterwards." Pointing to the nearly 60,000 Indian students studying in Germany, the ambassador said those who choose the right course and university have strong employment prospects. He said, "I think what I see is that the 60,000 students of Indian origin or from India in Germany, I think when they choose the right study, the right university, they run a fair chance to get a good job." He also underlined the success of India-Germany cooperation on mobility, saying both countries have worked closely to facilitate fair and legal skilled labour migration. He said, "We have had a very successful cooperation with the Indian government on mobility. We focus on skilled labour migration in a fair and legal way. We do that together with the center and states of India. I think so far, we have seen a lot of very good results, mainly in the areas of nursing and caregiving, but also in other areas like apprenticeships and engineering." Following several days of festivities, the Sri Ganesha Temple in Berlin's Neukolln opened on June 8. Located on the edge of the Hasenheide park it has a seventeen-meter-high tower. Founded September 24 , 2005 and consecrated June 7, 2026 -- twenty-one years of construction, funded entirely by donations and seva. On June 8, one of the largest Hindu temples in Europe, the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple, run by ten volunteer board members and three pujaris, was recognised as a registered non-profit by the Finanzamt fur Korperschaften. Doors at Hasenheide 106 open every day from 4 pm to 6 pm. Aarti takes place in the morning and evening. The temple is open to every Hindu current -- Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta, Smarta -- and to anyone who walks in: Berlin families, students, mixed-faith couples, colleagues from the office next door, school groups on open days. In 2015, the first Gopuram tower rose. 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. From 3-7 June 2026, the five-day festival took place. 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. (ANI)
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