The first Buddhist temple opened in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic City of Varnsdorf has, as the first city, a Buddhist temple. It was opened by the local Vietnamese community last week. The temple has even gold-plated statues transported form Taiwan.

“This is a great accomplishment for us, Buddhism is not only our religion, but also a part of our culture” the Vietnamese organizer said Pravo “The locals don’t give us any negative reactions.”

The mayor of Varnsdorf, Josef Polacek seems pleased: “I think a Buddhist temple in our town is a really interesting thing. Even the locals can come, it is opened for everybody.”

The opening ceremony took place with participation of the Vietnamese ambassador to the Czech Republic and local government representatives.

Varnsdorf alone hosts 400 citizens of Vietnamese origin. According to Radio Praha, in the Czech Republic officially lives about 22 000 Vietnamese. Their community is most significant as tradesmen.