Matrimandir

The Matrimandir is an edifice of spiritual significance for practitioners of integral yoga in the centre of Auroville, India established by Mirra Alfassa of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville's spiritual co-founder, known to her followers as The Mother or La Mère. It is called Soul of the City (French: ''L'âme de la Ville) and situated in a large open space called "Paix" (French for Peace''). The Mandir was conceived of in late 1965 as a gleaming sphere rising amid twelve gardens by, who marked a lone banyan tree as the heart of the city. Its foundation stone was laid at sunrise on her 93rd birthday, 21 February 1971, and the four supporting pillars were concreted on 17 November 1973; she died that evening. After decades of work by Aurovilians and craftsmen, the Inner Chamber opened in 1994 and the gold‑clad sphere was completed in May 2008.

== History == The Matrimandir, a "Temple of the Mother" was conceived as a shining sphere rising from twelve surrounding gardens by Alfassa in late 1965, when she designated a lone banyan tree as the city's spiritual center. Its foundation stone was laid on 21 February 1971, and excavation of the 14,000 m³ pit by Aurovilians and hired laborers began three weeks later. Concreting of the four supporting pillars was completed at 7:25 pm on 17 November 1973, coinciding with Alfassa's death, after which construction proceeded steadily. The Inner Chamber opened to visitors in 1994, and the main golden sphere was finished in 2008, with the surrounding twelve gardens and peripheral lake completed later.