Where is Datsan Gunzechoinei located?
Datsan Gunzechoinei is located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the northernmost Buddhist temple in Europe.
Questions about Datsan Gunzechoinei
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who built Datsan Gunzechoinei and when was it completed?
Agvan Dorzhiev obtained permission from the Tsar in 1909 to build the datsan. Construction was completed by 1915, with the formal consecration held on the 10th of August 1915.
What does the name Gunzechoinei mean?
Gunzechoinei translates as "The source of the Buddha's Religious Teaching that has Deep Compassion for All Beings." The name was given at the temple's consecration in 1915.
What statues are inside Datsan Gunzechoinei and where did they come from?
The temple holds a large gilded copper statue of the sitting Buddha Shakyamuni, a gift from King Rama VI of Siam (Thailand), and a standing statue of Buddha Maitreya, a gift from G. A. Planson of the Russian Council in Bangkok. Both were consecrated on the 9th of June 1914.
What happened to Datsan Gunzechoinei during the Soviet era?
After 1917 the building was ransacked and used for other purposes. By 1935 a large group of lamas was arrested by the NKVD and sentenced to hard labor, and in 1937 the remaining Buddhists in the city were arrested and shot. The last Buddhist service before a fifty-year silence was held in late 1933.
When did Datsan Gunzechoinei reopen as a Buddhist temple?
The Buddhist community in Saint Petersburg was officially recognised in 1989, and the 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche led the first service in fifty years that same year. As of 2013 the datsan is actively maintained as a place of practice for the Tibetan Gelugpa school.