Architecture of Mongolia - Post-Renaissance

Post-Renaissance

Building of magnificent temples in the traditions of the Renaissance period continued in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Ishbaljir (1709–1788) described the proportions of construction of buildings together with the proportions of human body in "Exquisite Flower Beads". Agvaanhaidav (1779–1838) described the process of building a Maitreya temple in "Maitreya Chapters Treasurous Mirror". Agvaanceren (1785–1849) wrote a book "The rules of building and repairing temples" teaching how to construct buildings and a book "Aahar shaahar" about maintenance and repairs of buildings. Also translations of Kangyur were widely used by the Mongolian architects.

Monasteries Züün Huree (1711), Amarbayasgalant monastery (1727), Manjusri Hiid (1733) and others were built during this period. The mobile monastery Ihe Huree founded for Zanabazar settled at the present location of city Ulaanbaatar in 1779. The wall around Erdene Yuu monastery began to be built in 1734. It contains 108 stupas. The Temple of Boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara was built in 1911-1913 as symbol of the new independent Bogdo Khanate of Mongolia. The colossal statue of the Boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara Migjed Janraisig, that who opens the eyes of wisdom of sentient beings, symbolised enlightenment of the Mongolian people who had opened a new page in their history and stepped into the modern civilisation. In the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 800 monasteries throughout the country.

An interesting tendency in the beginning of the 20th century was an experiment of combining the traditional Asian architecture with the features of the Russian architectural style. Bogdo Khan had his winter palace built as a Russian "horomy". A legend holds that the Manchurian Khan was suspicious of the interest of Bogdo Gegeen VIII in the European culture. To calm down his suspicion, Bogdo Gegeen had a ganjir added to the top of the building. Another example of the combination of the Asian and Russian styles of architecture is the residence of Khanddorji Wang, a leader of the independence movement of 1911. The body of the building is designed as a Russian house while the top was designed in the 'baroque' Asian style. One of the first European buildings in Mongolia is the 2-storey building of Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts. It was originally built as a trade centre in 1905.