Arulmihu Sivan Temple
Glattbrugg, Switzerland
- Deities
- Shiva
- Traditions
- shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- Industriestrasse 34, 8152 Glattbrugg
- Coordinates
- 47.431, 8.5563
- Darshan hours
- Poojas are held twice daily; consult the temple or the Saiva Tamil Sangam directly for the current schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Major Hindu festivals draw the temple's largest crowds, with recorded events attracting up to 4,000 visitors; consult the Saiva Tamil Sangam's calendar for specific dates.
- How to reach
- In Glattbrugg, in the industrial quarter between Glattbrugg and Seebach near Zürich Airport; reachable by tram or bus from Zürich or from Zürich Flughafen (Airport) railway station.
Location
Open in Google MapsThe Arulmihu Sivan Temple was established in 1994 as a non-profit foundation by the Saiva Tamil Sangam, one of two Hindu temples founded that same year to serve Switzerland’s growing community of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees (the other being the Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple in nearby Adliswil). It occupies a converted warehouse in the industrial quarter between Glattbrugg and Seebach, close to Zürich Airport, and is dedicated to Shiva. The Sangam describes its founding purpose as providing for the spiritual and cultural care of Tamil people in Switzerland and preserving Tamil culture within the diaspora, and the temple holds pujas twice daily.
Beyond its role as a place of worship, the temple has occasionally served as a venue for wider civic and interfaith engagement: in March 2018, Zürich’s Neumarkt Theatre staged a performance inside the temple involving participants from Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Orthodox, Free Church, and atheist communities, reflecting the temple’s place within Zürich’s broader interreligious landscape alongside its core role serving the Tamil community.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's 'Arulmihu Sivan Temple' article: confirms the 1994 founding as a non-profit foundation by the Saiva Tamil Sangam to serve Switzerland's Sri Lankan Tamil community (estimated 30,000-35,000 nationally, roughly 20,000 in canton Zürich), its location in a converted warehouse at Industriestrasse 34, Glattbrugg, its twice-daily poojas, and a March 2018 interfaith theatre performance staged at the temple by the Neumarkt Theatre. Confirms it was founded the same year (1994) as the Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple in nearby Adliswil, for related purposes.
- historical record: Wave 2 follow-up: coordinates cross-checked between Wikipedia's own infobox (47.4310, 8.5563) and an independent OpenStreetMap address geocode (47.4309370, 8.5562356), agreeing to within ~10 m.