About Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is the name of a special province in Central Java, and is also the name of its ancient capital. It lies in the shadow of Merapi, the 2900 meter tall Fire Mountain.The City of Yogyakarta (also known simply as "Yogya" or "Jogya") is the most attractive of the historical cities in Java. It is the center of classical Javanese art and culture that includes Ramayana dances, shadow puppet shows (wayang kulit), traditional gamelan music, and world-famous batik.The Old City and the Sultan’s Palace lies in the heart of Yogyakarta, with its elegant pavillions and courtyards, museums and art galleries. For more than two-and-a-half centuries, the Sultan's Palace or Kraton remains the hub of the city's cultural heritage. HistoryThe sultanate of Yogyakarta was formed in 1755 when the Dutch East India Company divided the existing Sultanate of Mataram into the Sultanate of Surakarta Hadiningrat and the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, which gradually overtook the former in size.On September 5, 1945, in response to Indonesian independence, the Sultanates became part of the Republic of Indonesia. During the Indonesian war of independence 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. Yogyakarta was granted the status of Special Region Province. Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX of Yogyakarta was named governor for life while Sri Paduka Paku Alam VIII of Surakarta became vice-governor. The current ruler of Yogyakarta is Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.The capital of the province, also called Yogyakarta, became a municipality in 1947. In 1999, Yogyakarta Municipality officially became Yogyakarta City.