What is the capital city of Mongolia, known before 1924 as Urga?

Ulaanbaatar is the capital city of Mongolia, known before 1924 as Urga.

The city began as a mobile Buddhist monastic centre in 1639 and moved locations many times before settling at its present site in the Tuul River valley. It was called Urga in Western languages for much of its history, while Mongolian names for the settlement changed as its political role developed.

In 1924, after the Mongolian Revolution and the establishment of the Mongolian People’s Republic, the city was renamed Ulaanbaatar, meaning “Red Hero.” It became the country’s political, economic, and cultural centre, and most of Mongolia’s population now lives in the wider metropolitan area.

Ulaanbaatar sits at roughly 1,350 metres above sea level and has a strongly continental climate. Winters are famously severe, with very low temperatures and persistent air pollution caused partly by coal-burning in the city’s expanding ger districts.