Jogja is known as a student destination and culinary capital, but it is also a tourist hotspot with many interesting activities. Yogyakarta Palace is one of Jogja’s interesting tourist attractions.
One of the tourism in Jogja is a historical building built in 1755 as the official palace of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate.
Founded by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono I, Yogyakarta Palace was present due to the split of Islamic Mataram because of the Giyanti agreement.
Until now, Kraton Jogja is still an old building with a very high historical value. A variety of unique objects can also be found if you visit there. Interested in visiting? Here’s the full Review!
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Kraton Yogyakarta – A Historical Sultanate Palace in Jogja
Address: Jl. Rotowijayan Blok No. 1, Panembahan, Kraton District, Yogyakarta City, Special Region of Yogyakarta
Map : Click here
Yogyakarta Palace is an area of 184 hectares consisting of Lor and Kidul squares, gladak gate, baluwarti fort, and Gede Yogyakarta mosque. However, the total area of the palace itself is 13 hectares only.
Although Indonesia was independent in 1945, the Yogyakarta palace still serves as the Sultan’s residence, and the palace household runs the tradition of the sultanate to this day.
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Yogyakarta Palace Opening hours and Entrance Ticket Price
Sultan Palace Yogyakarta opening hours: 09.00 – 14.00 WIB
Sultan palace Yogyakarta entrance fee: Rp 8.000 (0.55$) for local tourists, Rp 15.000 (1.03$) for foreign tourists (if you want to take pictures in the unique part of KRATON, you must pay again around Rp 2.000 (0.14$) per spot)
The Attraction of Yogyakarta Palace
Due to the uniqueness of the building, the number of art objects, and historical objects in it, Yogyakarta Palace has been one of the top tourist attractions in Jogja for centuries.
Many things that you can explore at Yogyakarta Palace include:
A. Travel in the main part of Kraton
A part of the Yogyakarta Palace consists of 8 parts and is currently open for public tours until the deadline for a visit is determined. The parts consist of:
1.Performance Area
Pagelaran area is the first area located at the very front close to Alun – Alun Utara. This area was once an area for Abdi Dalem when going to see the Sultan.
However, it has now switched functions to become a place to organize a variety of cultural activities.
2.Siti Hinggil Lor Area
This area is the site of various official ceremonies of the sultanate. In addition, this area also functions as a place to store a variety of heirloom objects and various traditional musical instruments.
3.Siti Hinggil Kidul Area
This area used to be where the Sultan trained his soldiers before performing Grebeg rituals. However, now it has switched its function to be the venue for several events held on certain days in the palace, such as poetry or gamelan performances.
As part of a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Yogyakarta’s establishment, the built Gedhong Sasana Hinggil bi century was erected in 1956 in this area.
4.Kamandungan Lor Area
The Kandungan Lor area in Yogyakarta Palace has an original function as a courtroom for the Sultan. But today, this area is used as a place to celebrate Grebeg tradition.
A distinctive feature of this area that distinguishes it from other areas is many Butun or Keben trees.
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5.Kamandungan Area
Kamandungan Kidul area is a historical area that used to be the residence of Sultan Hamengku Buwono I during the struggle against the VOC.
6.Srimanganti Area
The Srimanganti area is associated with the Kamandungan Lor area. This area served as a special guest reception in the ancient sultanate.
A set of gamelan and various heirloom objects are also stored in this area. However, the Srimanganti area is currently converted into a place to hold original cultural events at the palace.
7.Kedhaton Area
Kedhaton is the core area of Yogyakarta Palace. There are 21 important buildings here. Two buildings among the 21 buildings are the main buildings, namely Gedhong Prabayeksa and Bangsal Kencana.
Many kraton heirlooms can be found at Gedhong Prabayeksa. Kencana is an award used in the ward to hold various traditional ceremonies and religious rituals.
8.Magangan Area
The Kedhaton area is connected to this area. As part of the Sultanate of Jogja, Kemagangan used to have an open space for selecting Abdi Dalem to serve as officers on duty and training them.
Now, this area serves as a venue for Wayang Kulit and other activities.
B. Hunting culinary tours
It is not ideal if traveling to Yogyakarta palace does not include culinary tours. While on this tour, you can enjoy many culinary.
Some of the culinary that you can visit include:
- JAC Angkringan serves a variety of menus such as rice, grilled side dishes, and coffee. This dining place is in the hall area of Yogyakarta Palace.
- Gudeg Yu Djum Wijilan located at Jalan Wijilan 167, Panembahan Village, Kraton District
- Warung Brongkos Handayani located at Jalan Gading No. 02, Patehan Village
- Sate Klathak Kambing Pak Tong, which serves goat satay cooked with iron bars.
- The address is not far from Kraton; the location of this culinary place is on Wijilan Street No. 14
- Ice fruit Gerjen location is on Jalan Nyai Ahmad Dahlan No. 14 58 – 62, suitable to quench thirst during the day
C.Watching art performances
Kraton Jogja’s art performance is held in a large hall called Bangsal Sri Manganti. Shows such as this are routinely held in Yogyakarta Palace at a predetermined time.
The schedule of the show is as follows:
- Gamelan performances are held on Mondays and Tuesdays at 10.00 – 12.00 WIB
- Wayang Kulit show is held on Saturday at 09.00 – 13.00 WIB
- Dance performances are held on Sundays and Thursdays at 19.00 – 00.00 WIB
- Poetry reading performance is held on Friday at 10.00 – 11.30 WIB
- Wayang Golek performance is held on Wednesday from 09.00 – 12.00 WIB
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D.Watching the Jemparingan event
If you are still confused, Jemparingan is the practice of archery.
In ancient times, the art of Jemparingan was followed by royal soldiers, but nowadays, Jemparingan has become a race event that anyone can follow.
The unique thing about Jemparingan tradition is that every archer must wear traditional Javanese clothes.
If you want to see this art in Yogyakarta Palace, you can come here on Wage Tuesday (see Javanese calendar). The event was held in Kemandungan Square or precisely in the northern part of Sasana Hinggil Alun – Alun Selatan Building at 14.00 WIB.
D. Gain knowledge by talking with Abdi Dalem
If you want to increase your knowledge about the story of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, the history of the palace building, and so on, you can approach Abdi Dalem Istana.
They will usually provide interesting information for visitors who come and want to know various things about this palace. The courtiers usually welcome visitors very kindly.
