Formerly one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia, Ongi monastery was founded in 1660 and consisted of two temple complexes on the North and South banks of the Ong river. The older southern complex consisted of various administrative buildings as well as 11 temples. The northern complex built in the 18th century, consisted of 17 temples-among them one of the largest temples in all Mongolia. The Ongi monastery grounds also 4 Buddhist universities and could accommodate around one thousand monks at a time. In 1939 Ongi monastery was completely destroyed over 200 monks were killed and many surviving monks were imprisoned or forced to join the army.