Mörön

Updated on Feb 02, 2024

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Country Mongolia Area code(s) +976 (0)138 Elevation 1,710 m Population 35,789 (2010) Province Khövsgöl Province		Time zone UTC+8 License plate ХӨ (_ variable) Area 102.9 km² Local time Friday 1:32 AM

Weather -8°C, Wind W at 5 km/h, 77% Humidity

Mörön (Mongolian: Мөрөн, lit. "river"; also spelled Murun) is the administrative center of Khövsgöl Aimag (province) in northern Mongolia. Before 1933, Khatgal had been the Aimag capital.

Map of Murun, Mongolia

Although a poorly developed town, Mörön has a hospital, a museum, a theatre, a post office, several schools and kindergartens, like any other provincial capitals of Mongolia. Additionally, it was connected to the Mongolian central power grid in 2004. As a part of the present government's effort to connect all the aimag capitals with Ulaanbatar by paved road, the town has a paved road connecting to Mongolia's capital city Ulaanbaatar since December 2014.

History

The settlement stems from the Möröngiin Khuree monastery, which had been founded in 1809/11 on the banks of the Delgermörön river. By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery had grown to a population of about 1300 lamas, but was destroyed in 1937. A small new monastery (Danzadarjaa Khiid) was erected on the western edge of the town in the 1990s.

Population

Most of inhabitants live in ger districts.

Airport

The Mörön Airport (ICAO: ZMMN, IATA: MXV) has two runways, one paved and one gravel. It is served by regular flights from and to Ulaanbaatar. Some flights to the western aimags may stop over.

Climate

Mörön experienced a subarctic climate with semi-arid influences based upon the 1961 to 1990 reference period resulting in long, very dry, frigid winters and short, warm summers. Just a 0.3 °C (0.5 °F) rise of May temperatures would render the climate to be semi-arid, since it is too dry to be considered humid continental. Given the mildness of northern latitudes in recent decades, the climate is likely to be semi-arid if newer averages were used.

Notable buildings

There were 60 temples and monasteries in Mörön at the end of the 19th century. Möröngiin Chüree Khiid Monastery in which about 2500 monks were living was the most important one. It was famous for its Tsam dances. In 1937, however, the monasteries and temples of Mörön were all destroyed by order of the then president Khorloogiin Choibalsan, like everywhere in Mongolia. Danzadardscha Khiid, a small new monastery, was built in a traditional style in the western part of Mörön in June 1990, and 40 monks are living there. Several stupas and a tall Buddha statue were built around it as well.

The municipal theatre and the post office are on the southern and southwestern edges of the large Central Square. Opposite, the Town Hall which was built in a typical socialist style, is worth a look as well. In the middle of the square, an equestrian statue was erected as a monument for Chingunjav, the leader of a local rebellion against the Qing dynasty, in 2010. This statue replaced an older monument for Davaadorj (see below).

The monument for Davaadorj, a Mongolian border guard from Khövsgöl who was killed in a skirmish on the Khovd/Xinjiang border in 1948, has been moved to the compound of the border troops, around 300 m northeast of the Central Square.

Another sightworthy memorial was erected in front of the airport: Khainzangiin Gelenkhüü (Хайнзангийн Гэлэнхүү; 1870–1938), a Buddhist monk who tried to fly with wings made of sheep leather near the town of Jargalant in the 1930s.

The Aimag Museum, founded in 1949, is half-way between the Central Square and the Wrestlers' Stadium. It shows about 4000 objects, e.g., are traditional clothes and other items of minorities living in Khövsgöl Aimag.

The Wrestlers' Stadium is an interesting modern building in the eastern part of the town. In front of it, a memorial was erected to honour three famous wrestlers stemming from Mörön. A special park for children was laid out opposite the stadium.

References

Mörön Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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