Amarbayasgalant Khiid
Encyclopedia
Mongolian script
The classical Mongolian script , also known as Uyghurjin, was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most successful until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946...
: Amurbayasqulangtu keyid) once one of the three largest Buddhist centres in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
is located near the Selenge River in the Iven Valley, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren
Baruunbüren, Selenge
Baruunbüren is a sum of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. Amarbayasgalant Monastery is located 48 km NE from the sum center....
sum (district) of Selenge Province
Selenge Province
Selenge is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia, located in the north of the country. The name is derived from the Selenge river. The capital is Sükhbaatar.- Administrative subdivisions :* - The aimag capital- References :...
in northern Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. The architectural design belongs to G. Zanabazar and the monastery itself was built to honour the memory of him. Looking for a site for building, the exploratory group met two boys, Amur and Bayasqulangtu, playing in a steppe, and decided to build the future monastery at that site and name the monastery after those children.
Built between 1727 and 1736, it is one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped the destruction of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. The entire contents: the tankas, statues and manuscripts were looted by the Communists or hidden until more fortunate times. Restoration work began in 1988 and some of the new deities were commissioned in Delhi, India.
The monastery was originally built to house the remains of Zanabazar, the first Bogd Gegeen, the "August light".
Unlike the Erdene Zuu monastery
Erdene Zuu monastery
The Erdene Zuu Monastery is probably the most ancient surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. It is in Övörkhangai Province, near the town of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the ancient city of Karakorum...
, which is composed of an ensemble of temple halls of different styles, Amarbayasgalant shows great stylistic unity. The overall style is Chinese, despite some Mongol and Tibetan influence.
The plan is symmetrical and the main buildings succeed one another along a North-South axis, while the secondary buildings are laid out on parallel side axes.