Which capital city was formerly known as Urga?

The capital city formerly known as Urga is Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city of Mongolia. Urga was the Western form of Örgöö, the name used for the city when it began as a Buddhist monastic centre in 1639.

The settlement moved repeatedly during its early history before reaching its present location in 1778, in a valley near the Tuul River. As Urga, it became Mongolia’s leading religious centre and the seat of the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, the spiritual head of Mongolian Buddhism. It also developed into an important stop on the trade route linking Russia and China.

The city acquired its current name in 1924, after Mongolia became a socialist republic. Ulaanbaatar means “Red Hero,” a reference associated with Mongolian revolutionary leader Damdin Sükhbaatar. Older sources may also call the city Khüree or Ikh Khüree, so Urga is one of several historical names rather than a different Mongolian capital.