Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar or Ulaanbaator (also known as Ulan Bator, formerly Urga), city in north central Mongolia, capital of the Republic of Mongolia, on the Tuul (Tula) River. The city is situated in a valley at an elevation of about 1,310 m (4,300 ft) and is surrounded by ridges. It is the political, cultural, industrial, and transport centre of the country, connected by trunk roads to all the major towns in Mongolia and by rail to the Trans-Siberian and Chinese railway systems. Its products include building materials, footwear, clothing, leather goods, machine tools, dairy produce, pharmaceuticals, and porcelain. Meat plants, a brewery, and a power station are in operation here, and important lignite mines are nearby.

The broad tree-planted boulevards and squares of the city are lined with large Neo-Classical buildings. In the city are the State Public Library, several museums, the National Theatre, the Mongolian State University (1942), and the country's Academy of Sciences. Also notable is the Monastery of the Living Buddha, the residence of the nation's former spiritual leader, now a museum.

The city was founded in 1649 as a monastic centre and eventually became the seat of the Living Buddha. In the mid-19th century it developed as an important key trade centre on the caravan route between Russia and China. The city became capital of newly independent Outer Mongolia in 1911 (Inner Mongolia being controlled by China), and in 1921 it was taken by a Mongolian revolutionary group aided by Soviet forces. When the independent Communist Mongolian People's Republic was established in 1924, the city was renamed Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian for “Red Hero”). The most significant expansion of the city occurred after World War II, largely with the aid of planning from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Under Soviet influence the religious life of Mongolia declined, but since the establishment of a multi-party constitution in 1992 more than 100 monasteries have been reopened. Population 869,900 (2004 estimate).