Ulan Bator

Ulaanbaatar view frae Zaisan hill

Ulan Bator (pronounced /ˈuːlɑːn ˈbɑːtər/^{(deprecatit template)}) or Ulaanbaatar (/ˈuːlɑːn ˈbɑːtɑr/; Mongolie: Улаанбаатар, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ Inglis: The Red Hero), is the caipital an lairgest ceety o Mongolie. The ceety is an independent municipality, no pairt o ony province, an its population as o 2008 wis juist ower ane million.

Locatit in the north central pairt o the kintra, the ceety lies at an elevation o aboot 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the cultural, industrial, an financial hert o the kintra. It is an aa the centre o Mongolie's road netwirk, an connectit bi rail tae the Trans-Siberian Railway an the Cheenese railwey netwirk.

The ceety wis foondit in 1639 as an initially nomadic Buddhist monastic centre. In 1778 it settled permanently at its present location, the junction o the Tuul an Selbe rivers. Afore that it haed chynged location twintie-aicht times, wi each location bein chosen ceremonially. In the twentiet century, Ulan Bator grew intae a major manufacturin centre.

Names

Ulan Bator haes haed numerous names in its history. Frae 1639–1706, it wis kent as Örgöö (an aa spelled Urga) ([Өргөө, residence] error: {{lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)), an frae 1706–1911 as Ikh Khüree (Mongolian: Их = "great", Хүрээ = "camp"), Da Khüree (an aa spelled Da Khure; Cheenese: 大库伦, great Kulun) or simply Khüree/Hüree. Upon unthirldom in 1911, wi baith the secular govrenment an the Bogd Khan's palace present, the ceety's name chynged tae Niislel Khüree (Mongolian: Нийслэл = "capital", Хүрээ = "camp"). It is cawed Bogdiin Khüree (camp/monastery o the Bogd) in the folk sang Praise of Bogdiin Khuree.

When the ceety became the caipital o the new Mongolian Fowkrepublic in 1924, its name wis chynged tae Ulaanbaatar (Улаанбаатар, classical script: , Ulaɣan Baɣatur, literally "red hero"), in honour o Mongolie's naitional hero Damdin Sükhbaatar, whose warriors, shouder-tae-shouder wi the Soviet Reid Airmy, lieeerated Mongolie frae Ungern von Sternberg's troops an Cheenese occupation. His statue still adorns Ulan Bator's central square.

In Europe an North Americae, Ulan Bator wis generally kent as Urga (frae Örgöö) or whiles Kuren (frae Khüree) or Kulun (frae 庫倫, the Cheenese transcription o Khüree) afore 1924, an Ulan Bator afterwards, efter the Roushie: Улан-Батор. The Roushie spellin is different frae the Mongole acause it wis defined phonetically, an the Cyrillic script wis anly introduced in Mongolie seiventeen years later. Bi Mongols, the ceety wis nicknamed Aziin Tsagaan Dagina (White Maiden o Asie) in the late 20t century. It is nou whiles sarcastically cawed Utaanbaatar (Smog Hero), due tae the hivy layer o smog in winter. See Names o Asien ceeties in different leeds for ither names o Ulan Bator.