Manjushir Monastery

Manjushir Monastery

Manjushir Monastery was originally built in 1733 as a Buddhist temple. It is located in a granite valley filled with bizarrely shaped rocks, beside the road leading to Züün County, 39 kilometers southeast of Ulaanbaatar, the capital, about 4 kilometers north of Zuunmod, the capital of Töv Aimag Province.

At its peak, Manjushir Monastery once housed over 20 temples and around 300 monks. During the 1920s and 1930s, influenced by Stalin, the Mongolian government under Khorloogiin Choibalsan killed 15,000 monks and destroyed nearly all monasteries in Mongolia. Manjushir Monastery was not spared—its monks were either killed or exiled, and the monastery itself was completely ruined. Later, the remains of the monastery were repurposed as a museum, and a new temple was rebuilt in Zuunmod in its memory.

Manzushir Monastery

Must-visit reason: One of the most important monasteries in Zuunmod

Continent: Asia

Country/Region: Mongolia

Province/State: Töv Aimag Province

City: Zuunmod