Astana Giribangun (also "Giri Bangun"), is a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

complex for

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

(former

President of Indonesia The president of the Republic of Indonesia () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Indonesian government and the commander-in-chief of the ...

) and his family. The mausoleum is located in Karang Bangun, Matesih,

Karanganyar Regency Karanganyar Regency () is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency in the Indonesian province of Central Java. It covers an area of 767.79 km2 and had a population of 813,196 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 931,963 at th ...

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, 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 Yogya ...

province. It is on the foot hills of

Mount Lawu The Lawu (), or Mount Lawu () is a massive compound stratovolcano straddling the border between East Java and Central Java, Indonesia. The north side is deeply eroded and the eastern side contains parasitic crater lakes and parasitic cones. A ...

, approximately 35 kilometres east of the city of

Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...

. The archaic Javanese name translates as "Palace of the risen mountain". The structure was built in a traditional

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

nese architectural style and occupies parts of the Mangkunegaran Royal Cemetery complex. It is approximately 300 metres from the Astana Mangadeg, the burial sites of the Solonese royals Mangkunegara I, Mangkunegara II and Mangkunegara III. The site was chosen because Suharto's wife, Mrs Tien Suharto, was related to the Mangkunegaran Royal household and a descendant of Mangkunegara III from her mother's side. Out of respect of the pre-existing royal tomb, the newly established Astana Giribangun was built at a lower plateau and does not sit higher than Astana Mangadeg. The Astana Mangadeg was considered to be in a location having special spiritual features by many of the spiritualists and soothsayers who practiced kejawen (or kebatinan) by meditating and drawing charisma from ''

shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

'' (magic). Former President Suharto was buried in Astana Giribangun on 29 January 2008 with full state military honours following his death the day before. President

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired Indonesian Army, army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Ind ...

presided over the ceremony. Suharto was buried beside his late wife, who passed away in April 1996. In October 2010, in line with traditional Javanese practice, Suharto's family held a memorial ceremony at the Astana Giribangun 1,000 days after his death.

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* {{Find a Grave cemetery Buildings and structures in Central Java Suharto Muslim cemeteries Sunni cemeteries Mausoleums in Indonesia Burials in Java Cemeteries in Java Mount Lawu

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