Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Queen Street

Sri Mahamariamman Temple on Queen Street is one of George Town’s key Hindu institutions. The Penang Hindu Endowments Board documents its continuing festival processions and its relationship with the Waterfall Hilltop Temple. The Endowments Board explains that the shrine was enlarged into a proper temple in 1833 and that the institution was then known as Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple.

The present name came into use in 1980. George Town World Heritage Incorporated separately classifies Sri Mahamariamman as a Category I place of worship, placing it within the protected multicultural religious landscape of the World Heritage city. The temple participates in major chariot and procession traditions, including Thaipusam-linked observances and Chitraparuvam, connecting the city temple with other Penang Hindu sacred sites.

Category I heritage place of worship identified by George Town World Heritage Incorporated as contributing to the authenticity and Outstanding Universal Value of George Town. Located within the George Town component of the UNESCO World Heritage property “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca”; the temple is not separately inscribed as an individual World Heritage property.