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 Neukölln, Berlin, which opened on June 8, as a symbol of the country’s vibrant Indian community.
Speaking to ANI, Ackermann said he recently visited the temple, which he described as the tallest Hindu temple in Europe, and met several Indians who studied in Germany and went on to build their 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 am very proud to say that the gopuram is taller than any other Hindu temple. It is very beautiful. It is a kind of beautiful South Indian temple in the Tamil style.”
Ackermann said he interacted with many members of the Indian community at the temple, many of whom pursued higher education in Germany before finding work. “I spoke to many Indians who came to the temple to pray, many of whom studied in Germany, and all of them got good jobs after that,” he said.
Referring to the nearly 60,000 Indian students studying in Germany, the ambassador said those who choose the right course and university have strong job prospects. “I think what I see is that the 60,000 students of Indian origin or from India in Germany, I think that when they choose the right study, the right university, they get a fair chance of getting a good job,” he said.
He also stressed the success of cooperation between India and Germany in the field of mobility, saying that the two countries have worked closely to facilitate fair and legal skilled labor migration. “We have had a very successful collaboration with the Indian government on mobility. We are focusing on the migration of skilled workers in a fair and legal way. We are doing this in collaboration with central and states of India. I think so far we have seen a lot of very good results, especially in the areas of nursing and caregiving, but also in other areas like apprenticeships and engineering,” he said.
After several days of celebrations, the Sri Ganesha Temple in Neukölln, Berlin was opened on June 8. It is located on the edge of Hasenheide Park and has a seventeen-metre-high tower.
It was founded on September 24, 2005 and dedicated on June 7, 2026 – twenty-one years in construction, funded entirely by donations and Seva. On 8 June, one of the largest Hindu temples in Europe, the Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple, run by ten volunteer board members and three pujars, was recognized as a registered non-profit organization by Finanzamt fur Korperschaften.
Hasenheide 106’s doors are open daily from 4pm to 6pm. Aarti happens in the morning and evening. The temple is open to every stream of Hinduism – Vaishnava, Shiva, Shakta, Smarta – and to anyone who enters: Berlin families, students, interfaith couples, colleagues from the office next door, school groups on open days.
In 2015, the first gopuram rose. Black granite from Tamil Nadu, hand-carved by Indian masons, begins to stand out against Hasenheide’s sky. In Britz, the smaller Sri-Mayurapathy-Murugan-Tempel had opened the previous year as Berlin’s first Hindu temple.
From June 3 to 7, 2026, the festival was held for five days. On June 7, water from the Ganges and from Berlin is poured by crane onto the 17-metre-high Vimana Tower. One of the largest Hindu temples in Europe opens its doors.
