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The history of key monastery
Key gompa is said to have been founded by Dromton (Brom-ston, 1008-1064.CE), a pupil of the famous teacher atisha in the 11th century. This may however, refer to a now destroyed kadampa monastery at the near by village of Rangrik, which was probably destroyed in the 14th century when the sakya sect rose to power with Mongol assistance. Key was at attacked again by the Mangolis during the 17th century, during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama and became a Gelukpa establishment. In 1820 it was sacked again during the wars between Ladhak and Kullu. In 1841 it was severely damaged by the dogra army under Ghulam Khan and Rahim Khan. Later that same year suffered more damage from a Sikh army. In the 1840s it was ravage by fire and in 1975 a violent earthquake caused further damage which was repair with the help of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the state public works department. The successive trails of destruction and patch-up jobs have resulted in a haphazard growth of box-like structures and so the monastery looks like a fort. With temples built on top of one another. The walls of the monastery are covered with paintings and mural. It is an outstanding example of the 14th century monastic architecture, which developed as the result of the Chinese influence. Key monastery has a collection of ancient murals and books of high aesthetic value and it enshrines Buddha images and idols, in the position of Dhyana. There are three floors, the first one is mainly underground and used for storage. One room called the Tangyur is richly painted with murals. The ground floor has the beautifully decorated assembly hall and cells for many monks. Key Gompa now belongs to the Gelugpa sect. The monastery of Key for instance accommodates nearly 350 monks, who reside within the monastery. These monastery have their regular heads or Abbots.
A celebration of its millennium was conducted in 2000 in the presence of the his holiness the Dalai Lama.
Altitude : 4,166 metres (13,668 ft) above sea level.
Place: Kaza, Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India.

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