Yogyakarta
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Yogyakarta (also Jogjakarta or Jogja) is a city and province on the island of Java, Indonesia. It is the only province in Indonesia that is still formally governed by a precolonial Sultanate, the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. The city is known as a center of Javanese fine art and culture, and as a center for higher education.
The official name of the Yogyakarta province is Special Region of Yogyakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, or DIY). The city of Yogyakarta is the capital of the province.
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Geography
Yogyakarta is located in south-central Java. It is surrounded by the province of Central Java (Jawa Tengah) and the Indian Ocean in the south. The city is located at Template:Coor dm.
The province of Yogyakarta has a total area of 3,185.80 sq kilometres. It is subdivided into four districts (kabupaten) and one city (kotamadya), as follows:
- Kotamadya Yogyakarta (32,5 sq kilometres)
- Kabupaten Sleman (574.82 sq kilometres)
- Kabupaten Bantul (506.86 sq kilomtres)
- Kabupaten Gunung Kidul (586.27 sq kilomtres)
- Kabupaten Kulon Progo (1,485.36 sq kilomtres)
Yogyakarta has the second-smallest area of the provinces in Indonesia, after the Jakarta Capital Region.
History
The sultanate of Yogyakarta, formally the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, was formed in 1755 when the existing Sultanate of Mataram was divided in two under the Treaty of Giyanti between the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the rebellious Prince Mangkubumi. At the time, Mataram, and its ruler Pakubuwana III, was a client of the colonial VOC, responsible for ruling the interior of Java. Mangkubumi, offended by the great influence the Dutch held over the Javanese kingdom, fought an extended war against the VOC and Mataram for control. His army won, and he was awarded part of the kingdom in exchange. The other half of the kingdom continued to be ruled from Surakarta, about 60 km to the east. Upon his victory, Mangkubumi became Sultan Hamengkubuwono I, the first sultan of Yogyakarta, under a contract with the VOC which had to be renewed each time a Sultan died; the colonial administrators would impose a new contract which successively reduced the power of the new ruler.
The ruler Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX (April 12, 1912 - 1988) held a degree from a Leiden university, Netherland and held for a time the largely ceremonial position of Vice-President of Indonesia, a mark of his status, as well as Minister of Finance and Minister of Defense.
During the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch after World War II (1945-1950), the capital of the newly-declared Indonesian republic was temporarily moved to Yogyakarta when the Dutch reoccupied Jakarta. When Indonesia won its independence, the reformist Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX declared the Sultanate of Yogyakarta to be part of Indonesia. In return for to this declaration, by a law passed in 1950, Yogyakarta was granted the status of province Daerah Istimewa (Special Region Province), with special status in Indonesia that recognizes the power of the Sultan in contemporary affairs. Hence Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX was appointed as the governor for life. His policy was to grant more power to local village chiefs and modernize the management of the court, while in Jakarta Suharto was moving in the opposite direction, dispensing patronage to make the elite dependent on him. Hamengkubuwono IX passed away in 1988.
The current ruler of Yogyakarta is his son, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, who holds a law degree from Universitas Gadjah Mada. On the elder sultan's death, the position of governor, according to the agreement with Indonesia, was to pass to his heir. However, Jakarta insisted on an election. In 1998, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X was elected governor by the people of Yogyakarta directly, an extraordinary mark of confidence not shared by any living monarch, defying the will of the central government. He remains the only governor in Java without a military background: "I may be a sultan," he has been quoted in Asia Week as saying, "but is it not possible for me to also be a democrat?" [1] (http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/99/0319/nat4.html)
The city
At Yogyakarta's center is the kraton, or Sultan's palace. Surrounding the kraton is a densely-populated residential neighborhood that occupies land that was formerly the Sultan's sole domain; evidence of this former use remains in the form of old walls and the ruined "Water Castle" (tamansari), built in 1758 as a pleasure garden. No longer used by the sultan, the garden had been largely abandoned, but reconstruction efforts began in 2004, and an effort to renew the neighborhood around the kraton has begun.
While the city sprawls in all directions from the kraton, the core of the modern city is to the north, site of a few buildings with distinctive Dutch colonial-era architecture, and the contemporary commercial district. Jl. Malioboro, with rows of sidewalk vendors and nearby market and malls, is the primary shopping street in the city. Further north yet is the campus of Gadjah Mada University, the largest and oldest university in Indonesia. The north of the province is home to several more universities including Universitas Negeri Indonesia, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Universitas Sanata Dharma, and Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta.
The province
The Yogyakarta region stretches from the south coast of the island to the mountains, most notably the peak of Mount Merapi. Common destinations out of the city include the beaches at Parangtritis, the mountain resort town of Kaliurang at the base of Merapi, and the Hindu temples of Prambanan.
The Buddhist temple of Borobudur is often associated with and visited from Yogyakarta, although it is located on the province of Central Java.
Arts and culture
Yogyakarta is known for its silver work, leather puppets used for shadow plays (wayang kulit), and a unique style of making batik dyed fabric. It is also known for its vivid contemporary art scene.
Yogyakarta has signed a sister city agreement with Kyoto, Japan, and a sister state agreement with California, United States.
Transportation
Yogyakarta's airport is Adisucipto International Airport. The city is located on one of the two major railroad lines across Java between Jakarta and Surabaya; it has two stations, Tugu and Lempuyangan.
Reference
- Dapartment of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication Regional Office For Yogyakarta Special Region. (1997) Guide To Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta: Department of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication.
- Ricklefs, M.C. (2001) A history of modern Indonesia since c.1200 (3rd ed.). Stanford: Stanford University Press. pp. 126-139, 269-271. ISBN 0-8047-4480-7
External links
- Paul Spencer Sochaczewski, "The Sultan and the mermaid: a love story for the ages,"International Herald Tribune (http://www.sochaczewski.com/ARTsultanandmermaid.html): interview with Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX
- Extensive illustrated description of the Karaton Yogyakarta (http://seameo3.bpkpenabur.or.id/smkn6/yogya/KaratonYogyakarta.htm): the Sultan's palace
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