Gandantegchinlen Monastery

The Gandan Monastery (Mongolian Гандантэгчинлэн хийд, Gandantegtschinlen Chiid ) is the most important monastery in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. It is situated on a hill west of the city center.

The Gandan Monastery was founded in 1727 and 1937 severely damaged in connection with anti-Buddhist activities under the then party and government Chorloogiin Choibalsan, several buildings even destroyed. The monastery remained closed until 1944, and only then the remaining buildings were reopened. At the time of the Mongolian People's Republic, the Gandan Monastery, the only monastery of the entire Mongolia, where religious ceremonies - were allowed to take place - but under the control of the secret police. Today again about 600 monks live in the monastery.

The most striking building is the white Migjid Janraisig Süm, to the left the Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar Buddhist University followed. Here is the 26 meter high statue of the goddess Janraisig ( Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara ) for which the monastery is famous. 1938 Soviet troops had dismantled and melted down the statue. The Buddhist community was in 1996 with the equivalent of five million U.S. dollars donation to build a new gilded Janraisig. For the Dalai Lama, the real head of the monastery, a throne was built.