Darkhan ( mn, Дархан, ; "blacksmith") is the Second-largest city in Mongolia and the capital of

Darkhan-Uul Darkhan-Uul ( mn, Дархан-Уул, literally ''Blacksmith Mountain'') is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the north of the country. History The city Darkhan was founded on October 17, 1961, as a second indus ...

Aimag (Darkhan-Uul Province). It has a population of 121,428 in 2013.

History

On October 17, 1961, the city of Darkhan was built with extensive economic assistance from the

Comecon The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (, ; English abbreviation COMECON, CMEA, CEMA, or CAME) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along wit ...

. As its name implies, the city was originally conceived to be a manufacturing site for Mongolia's northern territory. Polish specialists built a woodworking plant,

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...

and a lime factory in Darkhan. Hungarians built a meat factory, opened in 1974. The city remains a mostly industrial centre and is the home of some 82% of Darkhan-Uul Province's population. As with most urban Mongols, some 86% of the city's population live in residential apartments, with the remaining population living in yurts (gers) on the outskirts of the city.

Geography and structures

With an elevation of , Darkhan is the capital of the

Darkhan-Uul Province Darkhan-Uul ( mn, Дархан-Уул, literally ''Blacksmith Mountain'') is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the north of the country. History The city Darkhan was founded on October 17, 1961, as a second indus ...

. It is a city with notable

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

influence, it can be seen from huge square buildings and pretty heavy

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = Gr ...

usage.being surrounded by mountains and hills, and too having some tourist attractions like

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s largely being

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

attractions. Some parts of the city have wooden houses.

Climate

Darkhan has a borderline humid continental climate ('' Dwb''), close to the more typical subarctic climate (''Dwc'') of northern Mongolia, which is found in higher areas near the city, and only marginally wet enough to avoid qualifying as a semi-arid climate (''BSk''). These three climate types tend to overlap a good deal over the border regions of Mongolia,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

and Kazakhstan. This area has extremely cold and dry winters; however the summers are warmer and more humid.

Culture

The Kharagiin monastery is housed in a log cabin in the old town; it has recently become active again as a

monastery. In addition, the city hosts the Museum of Darkhan-Uul. This museum, also called the Traditional Museum of Folk Art, contains a collection of archaeological findings, traditional clothing, religious artifacts, and

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

. The city has a monument to the horse-head fiddle ( morin khuur), the national emblematic instrument of Mongols.

Education

Darkhan is the second largest educational center in Mongolia, making the educational level of the city's population very high. Hundreds of students come to Darkhan from other parts of Mongolia to study. Currently in Darkhan Uul Aimag there are 10 higher education institutions, 25 secondary schools, 14 kindergartens, the Institute of Management and Development, the Regional Business Development Center and the Plant Science and Agricultural Training Research Institute.

Partner cities

Darkhan is partnered with:Официален сайт на община Димитровград – Побратимени градове

References

{{Authority control 1961 establishments in Mongolia Populated places established in 1961 Aimag centers Socialist planned cities