For 285 years between 1639 and 1924, eight reincarnations of one person called “Bogd Khan” lived in Mongolia. The Bogd Khan Palace Museum is a museum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia dedicated to the 8th Bogd Khan, the last emperor of Mongolia.
The museum is housed in the palace that was used by Bogd Khan and his family from 1911 until his death in 1924. The Bogd Khan Palace Museum contains a large collection of art objects and religious artifacts that were collected by Bogd Khan during his lifetime.
The history of the Bogd Khan museum
The history of Bogd Khan
The Bogd Khan Museum’s history begins with a little boy who was worshipped by the Mongolian people at the age of five, educated as a real saint by them, and raised to the status of the emperor who established Mongolia’s religion and state.
Bogd Jivzundamba 8th was born into a Tibetan government family in 1869, and he was formally recognized as the new incarnation of the Bogd Gegen in Potala before the 13th Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. The new Bogd Gegen traveled to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, in 1874 when he was just five years old. He lived only in Mongolia after that.
From a young age, not only was he a political and religious leader who respected the national interests of Mongolia, but he also became a fervent supporter of the Mongolian national liberation revolutions in 1911 and 1921.
The history of the Museum
The Bogd khan originally had four palaces, but the winter palace is the only one that survived the Communist purges of Buddhist life in the 1930s.
The palace was constructed over a ten-year period between 1893 and 1903. It consists of two main buildings situated on the grounds – the winter palace, designed in western style architecture by Russians; and the summer palace with more traditional designs.
In 1924, after Bogd khan died from sickness, a state museum office was established. Then, in 1926 by government decree, Mongolia’s first museum was moved to Bogd Khan’s Winter Palace. The historical, cultural, and artistic objects; god sacrifices; ethnographic artifacts; and various stuffed animal figures from the palace were combined with the exhibits already at the museum to create today’s version of the Bogd Khan Palace Museum.
The Bogd Khan Palace Museum now comprises of seven Summer Prayer temples and the Winter Palace, which was erected in European style.
The museum, which contains 8,600 exhibits, is visited by over 40,000 people every year. On display are many of the Bogd Khan’s possessions including his throne and bed as well as his collection of art and stuffed animals.
There is also an ornate ceremonial ger on display along with a pair of ceremonial boots given to the Khan by Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Last but not least, visitors can see the jewelled regalia worn by the Bogd Khan’s pet elephant. From this location, you can explore the history of the Last Emperor of Mongolia.
When was the Bogd Khan Palace Museum established?
Bogd Khan Palace Museum was first established in 1926, though the complex it is housed in was built between 1893 and 1903.
Why is Bogd Khan important?
It is a historical truth that Bogd Jivzundamba 8th was a political and religious leader who safeguarded Mongolia’s national interests from the age of five until the age of 53.
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