Monuments and temples convince new visitors with their beauties of Calcutta

Temples and monuments worth seeing in Calcutta

Kolkata, still better known today by its old name, is the seventh largest city in India with just under 4.5 million inhabitants and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 14 million inhabitants. Such a densely populated area can look back on a turbulent history and it actually goes back to 1495. It is therefore not surprising that the city offers a rich culture and travelers can discover numerous sights here.

Diverse temple complexes

As the country with the second largest population in the world, it is not surprising that India’s culture today is a colorful mixture that is fused from numerous cultures, religions and individual beliefs. Above all, the clash of major polytheistic religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism is a great enrichment from which tourists also benefit when visiting the city. In this context, one temple, namely the Kalighat Temple, is particularly worth mentioning. Exactly how far the history of the building goes back can hardly be reconstructed today, because there was already a place of prayer on the site that has been known since at least the 15th century. The building in its current form was built in 1809. The way in which it is used, however, established itself as early as 1550. While the building is dedicated to the goddess Kali, it was already used by different religions and beliefs at that time. In addition to this city’s most famous place of prayer, there are numerous others that are less well known but no less worth seeing. Which of them are worth a visit ultimately only depends on your own vacation planning and personal interest in the diversity of local religions.

Other sights in Calcutta

In addition to temples in this big, old city in India, there are also some monuments worth visiting as part of a sightseeing tour. Even the temple complexes offer a large number of sights in this context. One of the most well-known examples is probably the exterior of the Jain temple and there are also one or another monument elsewhere. However, if you are looking for the main attractions in the city, you will not find any more well-known and famous monuments than the monument to the British Queen Victoria. The idea was brought up in 1901, after the death of the queen, by the then governor general of India. Construction began in 1906 with the laying of the foundation stone by Victoria’s successor, King George V. The construction of the building took 15 years. Today, the rooms of the white marble building are used as a museum, which houses around 30,000 exhibits. The building is surrounded by spacious gardens. Exactly 100 meters in front of the building there is a larger than life statue of Queen Victoria, sitting on the throne and literally welcoming every visitor. In front of the back of the building is a statue of the then general governor and viceroy of India, George Cuzon.

Sights on every corner

Since it is impossible in this article to mention all of the smaller and larger sights in Calcutta, in the far east of India, let alone to present them in detail, this exemplary selection of two of the most important two places in the city should suffice to give travelers a small taste of a trip to offer in this beautiful city. If you spend your vacation in the city and travel with your eyes open, you will discover small and large cultural treasures in many corners that will amaze the traveler and enrich the journey.