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Radha Krishna Mandir (Comunidade Hindu de Portugal)

Lisbon (Lumiar), Portugal

VerifiedDocumented history
Deities
Radha Krishna
Traditions
vaishnava
Worship status
active
Address
Alameda Mahatma Gandhi, 1600-500 Lisboa (Lumiar), Portugal
Coordinates
38.7697826, -9.1747437
Darshan hours
Morning 8:00-10:30 am and evening 6:00-8:30 pm, with aarti at 8:30-9:00 am and 7:30-8:00 pm; consult the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal for the current daily schedule before visiting.
Best time to visit
Diwali and other major Hindu festivals draw large gatherings of Lisbon's Gujarati-Hindu community; consult the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal for the current calendar.
How to reach
In the Lumiar area of Lisbon, about 6 km north of the city centre, at Paço do Lumiar, a former royal residence converted for community use; reachable by public transport or road from central Lisbon.
Festivals
Diwali (October/November)

Location

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The Comunidade Hindu de Portugal (Hindu Community of Portugal) was formally established in 1982 by a small founding group of just five or six families, almost all descended from Hindus of Daman and Diu — the former Portuguese enclaves on India’s west coast — who had settled in Mozambique under colonial rule and then emigrated to Portugal after Mozambique’s 1975 independence. Sharing both Portuguese and Gujarati as common languages helped the community organize quickly; by the mid-1990s it had grown to roughly 8,000 members, concentrated mostly around Lisbon.

The community built its Radha Krishna Mandir at Paço do Lumiar, a former royal residence about 6 km north of central Lisbon, planning it as one of the largest Hindu temple complexes outside India. Construction was around 70% complete in early 1997, with organizers hoping to finish by the end of that year to coincide with Expo ’98’s commemoration of Vasco da Gama’s sea route to India; the temple is recorded as having opened in 1998. Beyond worship, the complex has also hosted community services such as job-training programs and blood-donation drives run jointly with Portuguese public health bodies.

Sources

  • historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's 'Hinduism in Portugal' article: confirms the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal's formal establishment in 1982, the Radha Krishna Mandir in Lumiar opening in 1998, and 2021 census Hindu population figures for Portugal (19,471) and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (11,085, roughly 57% of the national total).
  • historical record: Cross-checked against Hinduism Today (Feb 1997), 'Hindus Colonize Lisbon': confirms the community's 1982 founding by five or six families (grown to roughly 8,000 members by 1997), the temple complex at Paço do Lumiar (about 6 km from central Lisbon, a former royal residence), construction approximately 70% complete as of early 1997, and the community's roots among Hindus of Daman/Diu heritage who emigrated from Mozambique after its 1975 independence.
  • historical record: Wave 2 follow-up: cross-checked against the Comunidade Hindu de Portugal's own site (comunidadehindu.org) and Portuguese Wikipedia's dedicated 'Comunidade Hindu de Portugal' article, which together pin the official inauguration to 4 November 1998 (attended by Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio), the organization's formal founding to 14 January 1982 (following an Ad-Hoc Installing Commission formed in 1976), and its recognition as an IPSS (Portuguese non-profit social solidarity institution) in 1987. The complex spans roughly 15,610 sq m (temple, socio-cultural center, and two underground parking levels, plus a public garden with statues of Gandhi and Kasturbai), and the community reports roughly 9,000 members with about 800 active associates, most tracing their roots to Mozambique after its 1975 decolonization, with a smaller number arriving via Gujarat and formerly Portuguese India. Address and coordinates confirmed via an OpenStreetMap POI named 'Comunidade Hindu De Portugal' whose extratags list the organization's own website, matching comunidadehindu.org exactly.

For review

  • Minor date nuance between sources: a February 1997 magazine report anticipated the temple complex finishing construction by the end of 1997 (timed with Expo '98), while other sources state the mandir's official inauguration was 4 November 1998 — likely describing the same completion process, but the precise transition from 'construction substantially finished' to 'officially inaugurated' isn't independently pinned down to a single narrative. No exact house number on Alameda Mahatma Gandhi is given by any source; the address appears to cover the whole complex rather than a single numbered building.