Ulaanbaatar city is a pleasant place to visit and to base yourself for trips around country. The city has interesting monasteries and museums and various cultural shows, so it’s good to try spend some time before or after heading out to the glorious valleys, steppes and deserts.

With a population of 1.6 million in 9 districts, it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature.

Prehistory

Human habitation at the site of Ulaanbaatar dates from the Lower Paleolothic period, with a number of sites found on the Bogd Khan, Songinokhairkhan mountains, Buyant-Ukhaa revealing tools which date from 300,000 years ago to 40,000–12,000 years ago. These Upper Paleolithic people hunted mammoth and woolly rhinoceros, the bones of which are found abundantly around Ulaanbaatar.

A number of Hunnu-era (209BC-93AD) royal tombs which are over 2,000 years old have been discovered around Ulaanbaatar, including the tombs of Belkh Gorge near Dambadarjaalin monastery and tombs of Songinokhairkhan. Located on the banks of the Tuul River, Ulaanbaatar has been well within the sphere of nomadic empires throughout history.

History of mobile city

The first recorded capital city of Mongols was created in 1639 at Lake Shireet Tsagaan nuur  as a nomadic Buddhist monastic centre. Urguu as yurt monastery was intended by the Mongol nobles to be the settling place of Undur Gegeen Zanabazar, the first Jebtsundamba Khutugtu. Changing location 28 times between 1639 to 1778, as the city grew, it moved less and less. Urguu was permanently settled at its modern location in 1778 near the confluence of the Selbe and Tuul rivers and beneath Bogd Khan Uul.

Name changes: The city at its establishment in 1639 was referred to as Örgöö.  By 1651, it began to be referred to as Nomiĭn ('Khüree of Wisdom'), and by 1706 it was referred to as Ikh Khüree ('Great Khüree'). Other names include Bogdiin Khuree ('The Bogd's Khüree'), or simply Khüree ( Khüree), itself a term originally referring to an enclosure or settlement.

Upon independence in 1911, the city's name was changed to Niĭslel Khüree ('Capital Khüree'). In 1924, its name was changed to Ulaanbaatar ( 'Red Hero').

Demolition of historic buildings

Since 2013, Ulaanbaatar’s number of landmark buildings and structures have been demolished, despite considerable public outcry. This includes the Nisekh’s White Gate in September 2013, the Victims of Political Persecution Memorial Museum in October 2019, the National History Museum in December 2019, Buildings #3 and #6 of the National University of Mongolia in 2023 etc.