Religious Spots

Temples


Birla Mandir


The Venkateswara Temple in Hyderabad, popularly known as Birla Mandir is a magnificent structure which is built entirely out of Marble brought from Rajasthan. The presiding deity in this temple is Lord Venkateswara. The temple was built byBirla

Birla Mandir

Foundation and it took ten years for workers to complete this magnificent structure.


The architecture of the temple shows resemblance with the temples of Southern and Northern India. The intricately carved gopurams (tower) at the base are in typical South Indian style, while the smooth sikhara (dome) at the top is in the North Indian Rajasthani style. The temple has beautiful marble carvings and some of them illustrate verses from the Ramayana. The tower of the main temple called the Jagadananda vimanam has a close resemblance to the architecture of the Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar.


At night the temple gets illuminated with light of various colors which offers a spectacular look of the surrounding.


Mosques


Mecca Masjid


Mecca Masjid is one of the world’s largest mosques and can accommodate 10,000 people at a time. The mosque was constructed in 1617 by Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah and

Mecca Masjid

completed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1693. This huge mosque has bricks from Mecca embedded in its central arch. Several Nizams were buried here.


This mosque got its name from the Grand Mosque at Mecca on which it is patterned. The hall measures 67 mt. by 54 mt. and is 23 mt. in height. Fifteen arches, five on each of the three sides, support the roof. A high wall to provide the Mehrab blocks the western side. Each of the two octagonal columns on either side is made out of a single piece of granite. It took about 8000 Masons and laborers and 77 years to complete its construction. At each end you will find two huge octagonal columns made out of a single piece of granite each topped by an arched gallery that is crowned by a dome.


Churches

St. Josephs Cathedral


The Cathedral of Saint Joseph is located in the Gun foundry area and is perhaps the most beautiful church in Hyderabad. It was built around 1860 A.D. and has a distinctive Italian touch in its architecture. The towering central monument can hold a congregation of 500 people at a time. The ringing of the mammoth bell atop the structure to indicate the hours is indeed a pleasure to hear. In the main alcove inside the cathedral is an imitation of the famous 'Pieta' by Michelangelo.