Yogyakarta
Lying in the
shadow of a 2914 meter-high pressure cooker, appropriately called Fire Mountain
or Merapi, is the seat of the once mighty Javanese Empire of Mataram,
Ngayogyakarto Hadiningrat.
It is called Yogyakarta (Yogya) today and came into being in 1755, when a land
dispute effectively split the power of Mataram into the Sultanates of Yogyakarta
and Surakarta (Solo).
The Sultan's Palace or Kraton of Yogyakarta was built by Prince Mangkubumi at
this time and he used it as a focus to build the most powerful Javanese state
since the 1 7th century. The Sultan's palace is still the hub of Yogyakarta's
traditional life and despite the advance of 20th century modernity, it still
radiates the spirit of refinement which has been the hallmark of its art for
centuries.
Yogyakarta
is one of the supreme cultural centers of Java.
Full Gamelan orchestras create visions from the past, classical and contemporary
Javanese dances exhibit beautiful control and poise,
wayang kulit - leather puppet theaters - come to life and hundreds of other
traditional illustrations of art keep locals and visitors spellbound.
It is as if the city itself has an extraordinary life force and charm which seldom fails to captivate.
Contemporary
art has also grown i n the fertile soil of Yogyakarta's cultural and
sophisticated society. ASRI, the Academy of Fine Arts, for example, is the
centre of arts in the region and Yogyakarta itself has given its name to an
important school of modern painting in Indonesia, perhaps best illustrated by
the renowned impressionist, the late Affandi.
The province is one of the most
densely populated areas of Indonesia and is the main gateway to the centre of
Java where it is geographically located. It stretches from mighty Mount Merapi
to the North down to the powerful Indian Ocean to the South. Daily air services
connect Yogyakarta to Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali, while regular trains ply
similar routes and thousands of buses offer easy accessibility by road.