National Museum of Mongolian History. Ulaanbaatar museum. Mongolia museums
THE REGIONS OF MONGOLIA
SIGHTS OF INTEREST IN MONGOLIA
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MONGOLIAN HISTORY
The National Museum of Mongolian History was founded in 1991. Exhibits of the
museum show the history and culture of Mongols from ages as early as the Stone
Age and up to the modern days. Among 15 thousand exhibits of the museum are
carpet and silk items of the Hun period and leather boots of a Mongolian soldier
of that time.
Still sometimes referred to by its previous name, the Revolutionary Museum,
the National Museum of Mongolian History was renovated in 1998 and is well worth
a visit.
The 1st floor has some interesting exhibits on petroglyphs, deer stones
(stone sculptures of reindeer and other animals) and burial sites from the Hun
and Uyghur eras. The 2nd floor houses an outstanding collection of costumes,
hats and jewellery, representing most of Mongolia's ethnic groups.
The 3rd floor is a must-see for fans of the Mongol horde. The collection
includes real examples of 12th century Mongol Armour, and correspondence
between Pope Innocent IV and Guytik Khaan. Written in Latin and Persian and
dated November 13, 1246, it bears the khaan's seal. There is also a display of
traditional Mongolian culture with, among other things, a furnished ger,
traditional farming and domestic implements, saddles and musical instruments.
Also on display are Buddhist items, including the controversial Ganlin
Horn, made from human thigh bones, and used by head monks to call and
exorcise evil spirits. All the exhibits have good English captions, except for
the dull gallery of Soviet-era history.
The museum is on the comer of Khudaldaany Gudamj and Sukhbaataryn Gudamj. It
is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is a US$15 photography charge.
THE EXHIBITION DIVIDED :
Ancient History
The Ancient States Period
Traditional Clothing and Jewelry
The Kidan Period
Mongolian Tribal Confederations and United Mongolia of the 10th-12th
Centuries
Classic tours