Jepara ( jv, ꦗꦼꦥꦫ) is a

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

in the northeast of the Indonesian province of

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakart ...

. It covers an area of 1,004.13 km² and had a population of 1,097,280 at the 2010 census and 1,184,947 at the 2020 census. Its capital is Jepara town.

History

People believed to have come from South Yunnan region migrated into the northern tip of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

during a time when Jepara was still separated by the Juwana Strait. Map japara 1858

In the 16th century, Jepara was an important port; in early 1513, its king, Yunnus (Pati Unus) led an attack against Portuguese

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...

. His force is said to have been made up of one hundred ships and 5000 men from Jepara and

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...

but was defeated. Between 1518 and 1521 he apparently ruled over Demak. The rule of Ratu ('Queen') Kalinyamat in the latter 16th century was, however, Jepara's most influential. Jepara again attacked Malacca in 1551 this time with

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares mariti ...

but was defeated, and in 1574 besieged Malacca for three months. It was the site of an English Fort in the 17th century. It is the birthplace of Indonesian national heroine

Kartini ''Raden Adjeng'' Kartini (21 April 1879 – 17 September 1904), also known as '' Raden Ayu'' Kartini, was a prominent Indonesian activist who advocated for women's rights and female education. She was born into an aristocratic Javanese fa ...

Geography

Jepara Regency is located in the northeastern coastal region of Central Java, bordering

Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its no ...

in the north and west, Kudus Regency and

Pati Regency Pati Regency ( jv, Pathi, ꦥꦛꦶ) is a regency ( id, kabupaten) in the northeastern region of Central Java Province, on the island of Java in Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 1,503.68 km2, on the coast of the Java Sea. It had a ...

in the east, and

Demak Regency Demak ( jv, ꦢꦼꦩꦏ꧀) is a regency located in the Indonesian province of Central Java, on northern coast of the island. It is bordered by Jepara regency and the Java Sea to the north, Kudus and Grobogan regencies to the east, Grobogan ...

in the south. The eastern border is primarily a mountainous region, with the most notable peak being Mount Muria. The regency also includes the Karimumjawa Archipelago, itself recognized as an administrative district, located in the Java Sea approximately 80 kilometres northwest from the mainland part of Jepara Regency.

Administrative Districts

Jepara Regency comprises sixteen

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(''kecamatan''), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The table also includes the number of administrative villages (rural ''desa'' and urban ''kelurahan'') in each district and its post code.

Contemporary Jepara

The population is almost entirely Javanese and over 95%

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. As a ''pesisir'' ('coastal') area many traders from around the world landed in Jepara centuries ago. As a result, some of Jepara's resident have at part European, Chinese, Arabs, Malay or Bugis ancestry. The town is renowned its furniture industry. The production of teak furniture, employs approximately 80,000 people in the town, working in a large number of mainly small workshops. The trade has brought considerable prosperity to Jepara, well above the average for Central Java.

Tourism

Tourism in Jepara is an important component of the economy of Jepara and a significant source of tax revenue. Jepara is a town which known for their culinary, education, tourism, and rich cultural heritage. There are many possibilities and opportunities lies for the city to prosper and benefits more, but yet until now the government has not yet fully utilized them. Jepara although only a small town but has many tourist attractions, the mountain tourism, beach tourism, underwater tours, tour the islands. Foreign tourists often visit Tirto Samodra Beach (Bandengan Beach),

Karimunjawa Islands Karimunjawa Islands or Karimunjava Islands ( id, Kepulauan Karimunjawa) is an archipelago of 27 islands in the Java Sea, Indonesia, approximately 80 kilometres northwest of Jepara. They have a total land area of 71.2 km2. The main island is ...

(Crimon Java), Kartini Beach, etc.

References

External links

Jepara Government
{{Authority control Regencies of Central Java