The Royal Palace of Yogyakarta (, ) is a palace complex in the city of

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

Yogyakarta Special Region The Special Region of Yogyakarta is a province-level special region of Indonesia in southern Java. It is a semi-enclave that is surrounded by on the landward side by Central Java Province to the west, north, and east, but has a long coastline ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. It is the seat of the reigning

Sultan of Yogyakarta Hamengkubuwono () is the current ruling royal house of the Yogyakarta Sultanate in the Special Region of Yogyakarta of Indonesia. The reigning Sultan of Yogyakarta is the hereditary Governor of the Special Region (Act No. 13 of 2012, article 18 ...

and his family. The complex is a center of

Javanese culture Javanese culture () is the culture of the Javanese people. Javanese culture is centered in the provinces of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java in Indonesia. Due to various migrations, it can also be found in other parts of the world, such as ...

and contains a museum displaying royal artifacts. It is guarded by the Yogyakarta Kraton Guards ( Indonesian: ''Prajurit Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat'').

History

The complex was built in 1755–1756 ( AJ 1682) for

Hamengkubuwono I Hamengkubuwono I (Javanese script: ꦱꦸꦭ꧀ꦠꦤ꧀ꦲꦩꦼꦁꦏꦸꦧꦸꦮꦤꦆ, Bahasa Jawa: ''Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono I''), born Raden Mas Sujana ( Kartasura, 16 August 1717Yogyakarta, 24 March 1792), was the first sultan of Yog ...

, the first

.OBYEK PENELITIAN
http://elib.unikom.ac.id/ It was one of the monarch's first acts after the signing of the

Treaty of Giyanti The Treaty of Giyanti (also known as the Treaty of Gianti Java, the Gianti Agreement, or the Giyanti Treaty) was signed and ratified on February 13, 1755, between Prince Mangkubumi, the Dutch East India Company, and Sunan Pakubuwono III along ...

, which recognized the creation of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta under the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. A banyan forest, protected from flooding due to its location between two rivers, was chosen as the site for the palace. On 20 June 1812,

Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. Raffles ...

led a 1,200-strong British and Irish force to attack the walled royal city of Yogyakarta. Although they outnumbered the British, the Javanese were unprepared for the attack. Yogyakarta fell in one day, and the palace was sacked and burnt. The attack was the first of its kind on a Javanese court, and the Sultanate briefly became subject to British authority before the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

returned control of Indonesia to the Dutch. Most of the current palace was built by Sultan

Hamengkubuwono VIII Hamengkubuwono VIII (3 March 1880 – 22 October 1939), also spelled as Hamengkubuwana VIII, was the 8th sultan of Yogyakarta, reigning from 1921 until he died in 1939. During his reign, he carried out the rehabilitation of the Kraton Ngayogyaka ...

(who reigned from 1921 to 1939) and was rebuilt after earthquakes in 1876 and 2006.

Architecture

The palace's chief architect was

Sultan Hamengkubuwono I Hamengkubuwono I (Javanese script: ꦱꦸꦭ꧀ꦠꦤ꧀ꦲꦩꦼꦁꦏꦸꦧꦸꦮꦤꦆ, Bahasa Jawa: ''Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono I''), born Raden Mas Sujana (Kartasura, 16 August 1717Yogyakarta, 24 March 1792), was the first sultan of Yogya ...

, who founded the

Yogyakarta Sultanate The Sultanate of Yogyakarta, officially the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat ( ; ), is a Javanese monarchy in Yogyakarta Special Region, in the Republic of Indonesia. The current head of the sultanate is Hamengkubuwono X. Yogyakart ...

. His architectural expertise was appreciated by the Dutch scientist

Theodoor Gautier Thomas Pigeaud Theodoor Gautier Thomas Pigeaud (20 February 1899 – 6 March 1988) was a German-born Dutch lexicographer and expert in Javanese literature Javanese literature is, generally speaking, literature from Java and, more specifically, from areas w ...

and

Lucien Adam Lucien Adam (1833–1918) was a French linguist. Life Lucien Adam was born in Nancy, France. He became known for his writings on eastern Ural–Altaic dialects, and for writings on the Cree and Ojibwe dialects of the Algonquin language fam ...

, who considered him a worthy successor of

Pakubuwono II Pakubuwono II (also transliterated Pakubuwana II) (1711–1749) was the ruler of Mataram. His correct title in Javanese etiquette standards contains honorific appellations, some of which each successive ruler inherits. The move of his court fro ...

(founder of the

Surakarta Sunanate Surakarta Sunanate (; ) is a Javanese monarchy centred in the city of Surakarta, in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. The Surakarta Kraton (Indonesia), Kraton was established in 1745 by Pakubuwono II. Surakarta Sunanate and Yogyakarta S ...

).Tulisan awal The palace layout, which followed the basic design of the old city of Yogyakarta, was completed in 1755–1756; another building was added by a later Sultan of Yogyakarta. Kraton Yogyakarta 27

The complex consists of a courtyard covered with sand from the south coast, a main building, and a secondary building. The buildings are separated by a wall with a ''regol'' in ''semar tinandu'' style. The palace door is made of thick teak. Behind (or in front of) a gate in Javanese architecture is usually an insulating wall (''Renteng'' or ''Baturono''), sometimes with a distinctive, traditional ornament. The wooden buildings of the complex have a traditional Javanese architectural style, decorated with flora, fauna, or nature motifs. Foreign influences ( Portuguese,

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

, and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

) are also seen. The buildings are of ''

joglo Joglo is a type of traditional vernacular house of the Javanese people (Javanese ''omah''). The word ''joglo'' refers to the shape of the roof. In the highly hierarchical Javanese culture, the type of roof of a house reflects the social and econ ...

'' construction. The trapezoidal ''joglo'' roof is usually covered with red or gray shingles, tiles, or zinc. It is supported by a central pillar (''

soko guru Saka guru, or soko guru in Javanese, is the set of four main posts that support certain Javanese buildings, e.g. the pendopo, the house proper, and the mosque. The saka guru is the most fundamental element in Javanese architecture because it suppo ...

'') and secondary pillars. Pillars are usually dark green or black, with yellow, llight green red or gold highlights. Other wooden building elements match the pillars in color. The stone pedestal (''Ompak''), the black color is combined with gold ornamentation. White dominates the walls of the building and the complex. The floor, usually white marble or patterned tiles, is higher than the sandy courtyard. Some buildings have a higher main floor. Other buildings have a square stone (''Selo Gilang'') for the sultan's throne. Each building is classified by use. The main-class building (used by the sultan) has more ornamentation than the lower-class buildings, which have little or no ornamentation.

Symbolism

A ''kraton'' is a palace. ''Keraton'' is the living quarters of the royal family.

Tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

and Spanish cherry trees line the road from Krapyak Hunting House to the palace, which runs from Tugu Yogyakarta to the palace.

Tugu Yogyakarta Tugu Yogyakarta ( Javanese: ꦠꦸꦒꦸꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ, ''Tugu Ngayogyakarta'') is an important historical pillar landmark in the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. ''Tugu'' means monument, which is usually built as a symbol of an area conc ...

(the Gilig golong monument), on the north side of the old city, symbolizes "unification between the king (''golong'') and the people (''gilig'')" (Javanese: ''manunggaling kawulo gusti''). It also symbolizes the final unity of the creator (Khalik) and his subjects. The Gate Donopratoro (gate to the Kedaton quarter) represents "a good person is someone who is generous and knows how to control his lust", and the two Dwarapala statues (Balabuta and Cinkarabala) represent good and evil. The palace's artifacts are believed to have the power to repulse evil.

Performances

The palace hosts ''

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

'' (music),

Javanese dance Javanese dance (; ) is the dances and art forms that were created and influenced by Javanese culture in Indonesia. Javanese dance movement is controlled, deliberate, and refined. Javanese art often displays finesse, and, at the same time, a ser ...

, ''

macapat Javanese poetry (poetry in the Javanese or especially the Kawi language; Low Javanese: ''tembang''; High Javanese: ''sekar'') is traditionally recited in song form. The standard forms are divided into three types, sekar ageng, sekar madya, and se ...

'' (poetry), and ''

wayang ( , ) is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. The term refers both to the show as a whole and the puppet in particular. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a ''gamel ...

'' (shadow puppetry) performances.

In popular culture

The Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat was the second Pit Stop in ''

The Amazing Race 19 ''The Amazing Race 19'' is the nineteenth season of the American reality competition show ''The Amazing Race''. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world ...

''.

Gallery

Bandstand "Bangsal Mandalasana" in Kraton Yogyakarta (2025) - img 03.jpg , ''Bangsal Mandalasana'' or the

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

Bangsal Manis - Kraton Yogyakarta (2025) - img 16.jpg, ''Bangsal Manis'' Bangsal Manis - Kraton Yogyakarta (2025) - img 18.jpg, A railing in ''Bangsal Manis'' with Javanese ''

Kāla Kala (, ) is a Sanskrit term that means 'time' or 'death'. As time personified, destroying all things, Kala is a god of death, and often used as one of the epithets of Yama. In Shaivism, Kala is known as the fiery avatar of Shiva, Bhairava, K ...

'' Kraton of Yogyakarta 02.jpg, ''Bangsal Pagelaran'' Jogja - Kraton Yogyakarta - Donopratono gate (2025) - img 01.jpg, '' Donopratono ''Gate with the two ''

Dvarapala A Dvarapala or Dvarapalaka (Sanskrit, "door guard"; IAST: ' ) is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon - the most common being the Gada (mace), ''gada'' (mace). The dvarapala statue i ...

'' Gedhong Jene "Yellow Building" in Kraton Yogyakarta (2025) - img 01.jpg, ''Gedhog Jene'' or the Yellow Building File:Kraton Yogyakarta 31.JPG, alt=Elephant statue, A

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

statue File:Kraton Jogja-Gamelan.jpg, alt=Five men playing percussion instruments,

Gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

performance

References

External links

Kraton Yogyakarta Hadinigrat
at Yogyakarta government official website
KratonJogja.com
created by

Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...

Kraton Yogya
{{Tourist attractions in Indonesia Buildings and structures in Yogyakarta Cultural Properties of Indonesia in Yogyakarta Tourist attractions in Yogyakarta World Heritage Sites in Indonesia Yogyakarta Palace Royal residences in Indonesia