“Preserving the Memory of Centuries”: archives of three countries show religious architecture

At the regional museum you can see design sketches of the Alar datsan of 1890, the first Buddhist temple built in the Angara region.

The Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local History is hosting the exhibition “Preserving the Memory of Centuries” about the architectural traditions of Russia, Mongolia and Korea — secular, civil and religious building. The section on religious architecture covers datsans, pagodas and monastery complexes, including the Alar and Ust-Orda datsans. On display are photographs of design sketches for the Alar datsan dating from 1890, when it became the first Buddhist temple built in the Angara region.

The exhibition was prepared by the State Archive of Irkutsk Region, the Central National Archives of Mongolia, the Russian State Archive of the Economy, the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia and the Korean association for the preservation of cultural heritage.

Source (in Russian): Irkutsk Segodnya, 28 September 2026.