JOGJA

Orientation

The area of the city of Yogyakarta is 32.5 km². While the city sprawls in all directions from the kraton, the core of the modern city is to the north, centering around the site of a few buildings with distinctive Dutch colonial-era architecture and the contemporary commercial district. Jalan Malioboro, with rows of sidewalk vendors and nearby market and malls, is the primary shopping street for tourists in the city, while Jalan Solo, further north, is a shopping district more frequented by locals. At the southern end of Malioboro, on the east side is the large local market of Beringharjo, not far from Frot Vredeburg a restored Dutch fort.

At Yogyakarta's center is the kraton, or Sultan's palace. Surrounding the kraton is a densely populated residential neighborhood that occupies land that was formerly the Sultan's sole domain. Evidence of this former use remains in the form of old walls and the ruined "Water Castle" (Tamansari), built in 1758 as a pleasure garden. No longer used by the sultan, the garden had been largely abandoned. For a time, it was used for housing by palace employees and descendants. Reconstruction efforts began in 2004, and an effort to renew the neighborhood around the kraton has begun. The site is a developing tourist attraction.

History

The Yogyakarta Sultanate, formally the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, was formed in 1755 when the existing Sultanate of Mataram was divided by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in two under the Treaty of Giyanti. This treaty states that the Sultanate of Mataram was to be divided into the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat with Yogyakarta as the capital and Mangkubumi who became Sultan Hamengkubuwono I as its Sultan and the Sultanate of Surakarta Hadiningrat with Surakarta as the capital and Pakubuwono III who was the ruler of the Sultanate of Mataram as its Sultan. The Sultan Hamengkubuwono I spent the next 37 years building the new capital, with the Kraton as the centerpiece and the court at Surakarta as the blueprint model. By the time he died in 1792, his territory exceeded Surakarta's.

The ruler Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX (April 12, 1912 - 1988) held a degree from the Dutch Leiden University, and held for a time the largely ceremonial position of Vice-President of Indonesia, in recognition of his status, as well as Minister of Finance and Minister of Defense.
In support of Indonesia declaring independence from the Dutch and Japanese occupation, in September 5, 1945, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogya and Sri Paku Alam VIII in Yogya declared their sultanates to be part of the Republic of Indonesia. In return for this support, a law was passed in 1950 in which Yogyakarta was granted the status of province Daerah Istimewa (Special Region Province), with special status that recognizes the power of the Sultan in his own region's domestic affairs.

By this act, Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX was appointed as governor for life. During the Indonesian National Revolution against the Dutch after World War II (1945-1950), the capital of the newly-declared Indonesian republic was temporarily moved to Yogyakarta when the Dutch reoccupied Jakarta from January 1946 until August 1950.

The current ruler of Yogyakarta is his son, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, who holds a law degree from Universitas Gadjah Mada. Upon the elder sultan's death, the position of governor, according to the agreement with Indonesia, was to pass to his heir. However, the central government at that time insisted on an election. In 1998, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X was elected as governor by the provincial house of representatives (DPRD) of Yogyakarta, defying the will of the central government. "I may be a sultan," he has been quoted in Asia Week as saying, "but is it not possible for me to also be a democrat?"


2006 Earthquake

The province of Yogyakarta bore the brunt of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake on 27 May 2006 which killed 5,782 people and left some 36,299 persons injured. More than 135,000 houses are damaged, and 600,000 people are homeless . The earthquake extensively damaged the local region of Bantul, and its surrounding hinterland. The most significant number of deaths occurred in this region.

The coincidence of the recent eruption of Mount Merapi, and the earthquake would not be lost on the older and more superstitious Javanese - as such natural phenonomena are given considerable import within their understanding of the spiritual aspect of such events

Transportation

Yogyakarta is served by Adisucipto International Airport which connects the city with some other major cities in Indonesia, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Makassar, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, and Pontianak. It also connects the city with Singapore (operated by Garuda Indonesia) and (operated by AirAsia and Kuala Lumpur (operated by AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines).

The city is located on one of the two major railway lines across Java between Jakarta / Bandung and Surabaya. It has two passenger railway stations, Tugu Railway Station serves business and executive class trains while Lempuyangan Station serves economy class trains. Both stations are located in downtown Yogyakarta city.

The city has an extensive system of public city buses, and is a major destination for inter-city buses to elsewhere on Java or Bali, as well as taxis, andongs, and becaks. Motorbikes are by far the most commonly used personal transportation, but an increasing number of residents own automobiles.

Starting from early 2008, the city has operated a bus rapid transit system called Trans Jogja. This system is modeled after TransJakarta. But unlike Trans Jakarta, there is no particular lane for Trans Jogja buses, they run on main streets. Currently there are six lines of Trans Jogja service, with routes throughout main streets of Yogyakarta, which some overlap one another. The lines extend from Jombor bus station in the north as far as Giwangan main bus terminal in the south and Prambanan bus shelter in the east via Adisucipto International Airport. Trans Jogja has now become a new trademark of Yogyakarta and frequently used by local citizens and tourists alike.

In a recent forum discussion on long-term future transportation plans in Yogyakarta held in Universitas Gadjah Mada, Head of Yogyakarta region transportation master plan team, Prof Ahmad Munawar, said that, in 2016 various modern transport modes include monorail, aerobus, and tram will begin operating in the city and the region.

Education

The site of several major universities, Yogyakarta is widely recognized as an educational city. The northern part of the city is home to Gadjah Mada University, the oldest and most prestigious public university in Indonesia.

Some other famous universities in Yogyakarta are Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Institut Sains dan Teknologi AKPRIND - Yogyakarta, Universitas Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" Yogyakarta, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (for the UGM, Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, and Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta being the only state universities in Yogyakarta).And also College of Management Information Systems and Computer Science “Amikom” Yogyakarta (hereinafter referred STMIK Amikom Yogyakarta)


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