Simhachalam Temple (ISKCON Jandelsbrunn)
Jandelsbrunn (Zielberg), Lower Bavaria, Germany
- Deities
- Sri Sri Prahlada Laxmi Narasimha
- Traditions
- vaishnava
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- Zielberg 20, 94118 Jandelsbrunn, Bavaria
- Coordinates
- 48.7430596, 13.706257
- Darshan hours
- Varies by temple and season; consult the temple's own website for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Radhastami/Brahmotsava in September is the temple's major annual festival weekend; Janmashtami and Narasimha Caturdasi (given the temple's unique Narasimha dedication) are also widely observed.
- How to reach
- In the Zielberg district of Jandelsbrunn in the Bavarian Forest (Lower Bavaria), near the Austrian border; reachable by road, with Passau as the nearest larger city and railway connection.
- Festivals
- Janmashtami (August/September), Radhastami and Brahmotsava (September)
- Associated saints
- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Location
Open in Google MapsThe Simhachalam Temple sits in the Zielberg district of Jandelsbrunn, a small municipality in the Bavarian Forest near the Austrian border. Established by ISKCON around 1980, it was one of the movement’s early continental European outposts and, according to German-language sources, served for a time as a base for Hare Krishna missionary activity across Europe. What sets it apart from most other ISKCON centers, including the other communities in this directory, is its presiding deity: rather than the more typical Radha-Krishna pairing, the temple is dedicated to Narasimha, Vishnu’s half-lion, half-human incarnation, together with his young devotee Prahlada — a dedication German sources describe as unique among Hare Krishna temples in the West.
Beyond its role as a Vaishnava temple, the community at Jandelsbrunn maintains a farm with cow protection, offers guesthouse stays and retreats, and runs educational programs under the banner of an ISKCON Bhagavata College. It remains open to visitors daily and continues to draw devotees and Hindu community members from across Bavaria, Austria, and further afield, particularly for its annual Radhastami and Brahmotsava festival celebrations each September, alongside the wider Vaishnava calendar established by ISKCON founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against the German Wikipedia article 'Hinduismus in Deutschland' (confirms the temple 'was built around 1980' in Jandelsbrunn/Zielberg and describes it as one of the most important Hare Krishna movement temples in Central Europe, and as the only temple outside India, or in the West, dedicated exclusively to the Narasimha avatar of Vishnu and his devotee Prahlada Maharaja), the town article 'Jandelsbrunn' (confirms an ISKCON facility there that 'initially served as the base for Krishna movement missionary work in Europe'), 'Liste hinduistischer Tempel in Deutschland' (lists 'ISKCON-Simhachalam-Tempel Jandelsbrunn'), and the temple's own current website (simhachalam.de), which identifies it as 'ISKCON Jandelsbrunn e.V. / Simhachalam Temple,' names its presiding deities as 'Lord Sri Sri Prahlad Laxmi Narasimha,' and lists ongoing activities including daily darshan, guesthouse retreats, farm/cow-protection work, and a Radhastami & Brahmotsava festival each September.
- historical record: Wave 2 follow-up: German Wikipedia's 'Jandelsbrunn' article states plainly that a temple of ISKCON has stood in Zielberg 'seit 1980' (since 1980), confirming the founding year without the earlier 'around 1980' hedge. The postal code was also corrected: 94157 (previously recorded) does not match Jandelsbrunn/Zielberg; both German Wikipedia's infobox and OpenStreetMap Nominatim consistently give 94118. Coordinates added from the OSM Nominatim POI 'Löwentempel Simhachalam' at Zielberg 20. The temple's own site (simhachalam.de) additionally confirms a 5-room guesthouse, a Sankirtan Festival, and that it is the only ISKCON temple in Europe dedicated exclusively to Narasimha.