HinduismWhen one ending becomes a new beginning. This is the story of Lord Ganesha and the Hindu temple in Bijlmer.
Location
Lord Shiva Hindu Temples
Hoogoorddreef 79
Type
Temple
Religious community
hinduism
Object
Statue of Ganesha
Maker and date
Maker unknown
Date unknown
Visit
On display in the temple during opening hours
Current interior
Current exterior
Within an unassuming storage building at an industrial site in Amsterdam Bijlmer, stand three remarkable statues of revered Hindu deities: Shiva, Durga and Ganesha.
Upon entering, you notice the air growing richer with the scents of incense and spices. Before entering the main hall of the temple, you remove your shoes out of respect for the divnie. Inside, your eyes fall on one specific statue. Its colours, textures and materials draw your attention. The mysterious figure with four arms and the head of an elephant is Lord Ganesha.
Durga
The protector mother of the universe. Her name literally translates to “a fort”. She is traditionally depicted with up to ten arms, each one holding a weapon. Her vehicle is a lion.
Ganesha
Ganesha attends to Lord Shiva. He is the remover of obstacles. Traditionally depicted with an elephant head and, in his hands, holding a few round Indian sweets. His vehicle is a mouse.
Shiva
He is the destroyer who ends the cycle of time which, in turn, begins a new one. He is not only the destroyer and restorer, but also a symbol of both asceticism and sensuality. His vehicle is the sacred bull, Nandi.
Amsterdam Bijlmer
A neighborhood in Amsterdam which, at the time of its projection, was not provided with religious spaces. As a solution, many religious communities practice in private homes or makeshift temples.
The Lord Shiva Hindu Temple Amsterdam houses multiple statues of Hindu deities. The temple serves as a spiritual home for Amsterdam’s Hindu community and supports their religious practices.
The story of Ganesha closely resembles that of the temple. Parvati, the wife of the god Shiva, once wanted to take a bath in peace. Since Shiva often appeared unexpectedly, she wanted a guard. She fashioned a boy out of clay or turmeric powder from her own body and breathed life into him – thus Ganesha was born. She instructed him not to let anyone in. When Shiva came home and tried to enter, Ganesha stopped him – after all, he didn’t know who Shiva was. Shiva was furious at the boy’s bold behavior. Shiva beheaded him.
The death of Ganesha reflects the fate of an earlier Hindu temple in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. Between 2009 and 2010, the Egeldonk apartment block, which had housed the temple for ten years, was demolished to make way for new apartments.
Parvati
The wife of Lord Shiva. Her name is derived from the word for mountain. She is extremely ascetic, a practice usually reserved for men in ancient India. She is also the goddess of home, family, and marriage. She can be recognized by a lotus, vase, rosary, or trident. Her vehicle is a lion.
The statues of Shiva and Parvati with their son Ganesha are displayed centrally in the temple.
When Parvati discovered what had happened, she demanded that her son be brought back to life. Shiva ordered his attendants to bring the head of the first living being they encountered. That turned out to be an elephant. Shiva placed the elephant’s head on the boy’s body. In this way, Ganesha was reborn as the Lord of New Beginnings. Shiva acknowledged his mistake and granted Ganesha a high status among the gods. He decreed that Ganesha would henceforth be honored first at every ceremony or ritual – which is why, in Hinduism, Ganesha is usually invoked before all others.
Similarly, the Hindu community found new life in an unexpected building: a former storage unit in Amsterdam Bijlmer. Today, this unconventional temple stands as a testiment to resilience of the Hindu community of Amsterdam and embodies the renewing powers of Ganesha.
Marta Štrama
Student Amsterdam University College 2024
Last edited
August 04, 2025
Statue of Lord Ganesha, unknown maker, ca. 2011. Collection Shiva Hindu Temple Amsterdam.
interior and exterior: Robert Westera Fotografie
The deities of the Shiva Hindu Temple, unknown maker, ca. 2011. Collection Shiva Hindu Temple Amsterdam.
Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha, unknown maker, ca. 2011. Collection Shiva Hindu Temple Amsterdam.
Bakker, Freek L., and Paul van der Velde, Hindus in the Netherlands (Berlin 2018).
Online sources
Lord Shiva Hindu Temples - Amsterdam
Last visited 14-07-2025
AT5 - Nog geen nieuwe plek voor hindoetempel
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