Amlapura () formerly known as Kuta Negara Karangasem () is a town and the regency seat of the Karangasem Regency,

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

, Indonesia. It was renamed in 1963 after the eruption of Mount Agung. The population of the town in 2010 was 37.308.

History

After the eruption of Mount Agung in 1963, a new city had to be built since most of the office complexes built during the Dutch East Indies Government were destroyed by the lava floods. The name Amlapura includes ''amla'' ("fruit") and ''pura'' ("place"). It refers to the name of the previous Puri Kelodan, namely Puri Amlaraja. It is also a reminder of a place named in the colophon of the ''Negarakretagama'' manuscript, in the village of Negarakretagama or Warnana (''Griya Pidada'' Karangasem), stating that the ''lontar'' was finished writing in Amlanegantun (''wus puput sinurat ring Amlanagantu''). In addition, there are also mentions in the '' Babad Dalem''. The 1991 song ''Amlapura'' on Tin Machine's album '' Tin Machine II'' cites the place, which

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

the frontman of the band had visited.

Awards

In 2011, for a third consecutive time, Amlapura City received the Adipura Award as Indonesia's Cleanest Small City and also received the Adiwiyata Award for a fourth consecutive time for the Cleanest Elementary School.

Climate

Amlapura has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(Aw) with moderate to little rainfall from April to October and heavy rainfall from November to March.

''Lontars'' in Penaban

The in Penaban, located 5 km north of Amlapura, is a '' lontar'' museum, restoration workshop and research center. It was inaugurated in November 2017 in the presence of ''lontar'' maestro Ida I Dewa Gede Catra and Dutch ''lontar'' researcher Professor Hinzler, the latter also one of the museum's curators. Its various buildings, of traditional Balinese style, spread over one and a half hectares. As of 2021, it held 313 ''cakap'' (volumes of ''lontar''). On demand, they also do what could be termed as 'home service', where they help ''lontar'' owners to take care of their ''lontars''. The museum's team has digitized and put online 130 ''lontars''. The center provides an unabridged formation for ''Sang Kul Putih'', one of the two disciplines of ''pemangku'' (priest). As an introduction to the world of ''lontars'', it also hold workshops to Balinese hymns, ''lontar'' manuscript making, and Balinese alphabet. The museum operates on donations.

References

External links

{{Wikivoyage-inline, East Bali Regency seats of Bali Karangasem Regency