Ensemble of the Aginsky Datsan

«Founded in 1811, the monastery initially functioned as a felt‑walled temple. The first stone Tsogchen Dugan (cathedral temple) was reportedly built by a Russian craftsman without an architectural plan. Its single‑domed Orthodox church layout was adapted for a Buddhist temple, built between 1811 and 1816. Initially, the datsan comprised the Tsogchen-dugan and 4 aimag sume (district chapels). Between 1879 and 1886, a new Tsogchen-dugan was erected. In 1897, the iron roof was repaired. In 1915, the wooden corner decorations were renewed. From 1895 to 1903, authorities authorized to the expansion of the existing small temples and the construction of new ones; their total number reached 13. Up to 700 lamas attended the services, from the shireete to the non-staff gelong. Furthermore, the complex also included four aimag sume, initially within the monastery enclosure and, from 19th century, relocated outside it. Unlike the places of worship parishioners, the aimag sume functioned ‘private’ temples of serving a specific district the so-called ‘parish aimag’... In the late 1930s, the datsan was closed, most of the buildings were dismantled, and the surviving ones were reassigned for ‘secular’ purposes. Items of worship and religious art belonging to the monastery were transferred to the collections and permanent exhibitions of museums in Moscow, Leningrad, and Ulan-Ude, while the remaining property was looted. In 1946, the datsan was reopened and regious life grandually resumed. In 1990, in response to demand from residents of the Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug, the monastery building were returned to the Buddhist community. That same year, a statue of Maidari and about 250 religious objects were returned from St. Petersburg. In 1991, the datsan was visited and consecrated by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. In January 2004, after a seventy year interruption and a ten year of restoration work, the first khurul was held in the Tsogchen-dugan (the main cathedral temple). In 2005, the 22-meter-high "Yundum Shodon" stupa was fully restored. The Zula and "Eight Sacred Stupas" dugans supplemented the composition of the sacred complex. In 2014, a fire destroyed a significant portion of the Tsogchen-dugan, causing  severe damage to the core of the ensemble. Using collected donations, ZAO "NP Chitagrazhdanproekt" promptly prepared the design and estimate documentation for restoration. In 2015, restoration work commenced, financed under the "Culture of Russia" Federal Targeted Program».

Zhamsueva D.S. Aginsky Datsan // Small Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia: Architecture and Construction. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2016. – P. 33–34. https://ez.chita.ru/encycl/concepts/?id=1885 

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