Erdene-Zuu Buddhist Monastery (Mong., Hundred Treasures) is one of the oldest monasteries of Mongolia that have survived to this day and one of the largest medieval Buddhist monasteries in the world. It was erected in 1585 on the personal funds of the influential Prince Abtei Khalkha Khan in place a formidable capital of the Mongolian Empire of the 13th century - the Karakoram, founded by Genghis Khan in 1220 During the construction of the monastery complex were used materials from the fires and the ruins of Karakorum

It is located Erdene-Zuu southeast of Ulaanbaatar in the valley of the river Orkhon in Kharkhorin. By 1792 the monastery numbered 62 churches, and only about 10 thousand monks lived in the monastery complex. Today the monastery is an ensemble of 17 churches, of which only one operates - the Lavran temple, which in appearance resembles the Tibetan temples. The whole architecture of the complex combines the Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese architectural motifs

The central figures of the ensemble of the monastery Erdene Zuu - three temple facades oriented to the east and symbolizing the three stages of Buddha's life. They are two-storey temple-Zuu (Goal-Zuu) in the center storey and roof temples bunk Barun-Dzuu (Baruun-Dzuu) and Dzuun-Dzuu (Zchchn-Dzuu) on each side.

whole complex area of ​​420 m x 420 surrounds the wall 108 to suburgans, Mongolian religious buildings, tombs llamas and storage relics (number 108 sacred for Buddhists ), and inside the high pedestal is Bodi-suburgan (Sacred Suburan). The chronicles indicate that 100 thousand different burkhans, 55,000 images of body-suurganas, plus the relics of Buddhist saints were laid inside the building.

Once the monastery was located more than 60 large and small shrines (chapels), and in its best times in the county lived to 10 thousand lamas . . The central platform of the monastery Erdene-Zuu is paved with stone slabs and is called the Square of Happiness and Prosperity (Lhundubdechenlin) . Here, according to legend, there was a yurt of Abatai-khan, and its name is the ancient name of the monastery given to him by the Dalai Lama III; It is translated from the Tibetan as "the place of the great self-arisen bliss" . Among the relics of the monastery, the Dalai Lama sent a gift Khan Abatai include Buddha Ikhe-Tzu statue containing the relics of Shakyamuni Buddha, gilded statue of the Buddhist saint Padmasambhava 17th century, 8 bodhisattvas 7 Buddha-healers and much more .

In the late 1930s the monastery was closed and the temples were partially destroyed. His recovery was aided by a visit to the MPR in 1944 by US Vice President G.E. Wallace, followed by NK Roerich. A significant role in this played by I.V. Stalin, who insisted before the Mongolian leader Choibalsan in the emergency reconstruction of the ancient monastery. In 1947, within its walls opened National Museum of Mongolia, Buddhist services are not carried out until 1990

just north of the monastery of Erdene Zuu is the famous stone sculpture of a huge turtle -. Monument of ancient Karakorum . No less is known and the other near the sculpture walls of the monastery - a stone phallus about a meter high . Legends endows him with the strength to restore women's health for the onset of a long-awaited pregnancy . According to a more official version, this sculpture was placed here for the edification of a monk m - pointing to the temple, she was called to teach them to tame the flesh with prayers, and not visit nearby villages to meet sinful needs .

In 2004 UNESCO declared the monastery a World Heritage Site.

How to get there

There is a monastery on the outskirts of the town of Kharkhorin in the form of a huge square fenced with a stone fence with stupas (suburans). From July to September, you can fly to Kharkhorin from Ulaanbaatar by plane, all year round, buses run from the capital (the time is 7-8 hours).