Model of Karakorum

Karakorum (Khalkha Mongolian: Kharkhorin, Classical Mongolian: Qara Qorum) was the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, although for only about 30 years. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Övörkhangai Province of Mongolia, near today's town of Kharkhorin, and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu monastery. They are part of the upper part of the World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape.

Since 2000, the German Archaeological Institute, the University of Bonn and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences have been conducting joint excavations in the ancient capital Karakorum (Mongolian-German Karakorum Expedition) under the patronage of the German and Mongolian heads of state.