The Jain temple of
Antwerp is located in the municipality
Wilrijk
Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...
.
History
The building has a surface area of 1,000 m
2 and has been in use since 2010. Construction started in 1990 in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. After it was completed in 2000, the building was dismantled piece by piece, shipped to Belgium and rebuild on its current location. The white marble design is inspired by traditional Jain Temples.
About temple
It is the biggest Jain temple outside of India. The temple houses an information centre about
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...
.
See also
*
Jainism in Belgium
The Jains in Belgium are estimated to be around about 1,500 people.
The majority live in Antwerp, working in the wholesale diamond business.
Belgian Indian Jains control two-thirds of the rough diamonds trade and supplied India with roug ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
* Chris De Lauwer, "Een Indiase tempel in België", in: Idesbald Goddeeris (red.), ''Het wiel van Ashoka. Belgisch-Indiase contacten in historisch perspectief'', 2013, p. 233-240
External links
Religious buildings and structures in Antwerp
2010 establishments in Belgium
Religious buildings and structures completed in 2010
21st-century Jain temples
Jain temples in Belgium
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