5/5 Nicola T. 5 months ago on Google
The
Sri
Mariamman
Temple
(Tamil:
ஸ்ரீ
மாரியம்மன்
கோவில்,
romanized:
Srī
Māriyam'maṉ
Kōvil)
is
Singapore's
oldest
Hindu
temple.
It
is
an
agamic
temple,
built
in
the
Dravidian
style.
Located
at
244
South
Bridge
Road,
in
the
downtown
Chinatown
district,
the
temple
serves
the
majority
Hindu
Singaporeans,
Tamilians,
in
the
city-state.
Due
to
its
architectural
and
historical
significance,
the
temple
has
been
gazetted
a
National
Monument
and
is
a
major
tourist
attraction.
Sri
Mariamman
Temple
is
managed
by
the
Hindu
Endowments
Board,
a
statutory
board
under
the
Ministry
of
Community
Development,
Youth
and
Sports.
The
Sri
Mariamman
Temple
was
founded
in
1827
by
Naraina
Pillai,
eight
years
after
the
East
India
Company
established
a
trading
settlement
in
Singapore.
Pillai
was
a
government
clerk
from
Penang
who
arrived
in
Singapore
with
Sir
Stamford
Raffles
on
his
second
visit
to
the
island
in
May
1819.
Pillai
went
on
to
set
up
the
island's
first
construction
company,
and
also
entered
the
textile
trade.
He
rapidly
established
himself
in
business
and
was
identified
as
a
leader
of
the
Indian
community.
Built
in
the
South
Indian
architecture|
style,
this
temple
features
a
gopuram
that
rises
above
the
main
entrance
along
South
Bridge
Road.
It
is
richly
embellished
with
six
tiers
of
sculptures
of
Hindu
deities,
other
figures
and
ornamental
decorations.
The
tower
tapers
up
towards
to
a
moulded
ornamental
ridge.
The
scale
of
each
tier
and
its
sculptures
is
slightly
smaller
than
that
of
the
tier
immediately
below
it.
This
helps
to
create
the
illusion
of
height
and
adds
to
the
symbolic
importance
of
the
building.
Flanking
the
gopuram
are
a
sculpture
of
Murugan
on
the
right
and
Krishna
on
the
left
(as
one
enters).
The
sculptures
are
all
of
plaster,
which
allows
for
fine
detailing.
They
are
painted
in
a
variety
of
bright
colours,
which
adds
to
the
visually
spectacular
quality
of
the
gopuram.