Central Java
Central Java (Indonesian: Jawa Tengah, Javanese: ꦗꦮꦶꦩꦢꦾ, romanized: Jawa Madya, Pegon: جاوا ماديا) is a 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 Yogyakarta in the south, East Java in the east, and the Java Sea in the north. It has a total area of 33,750.37 km2, with a population of 36,516,035 at the 2020 Census making it the third-most populous province in both Java and Indonesia after West Java and East Java. The official population estimate in mid-2023 was 37,608,336 The province also includes a number of offshore islands, including the island of Nusakambangan in the south (close to the border of West Java), and the Karimun Jawa Islands in the Java Sea.
Constructed of gray andesite-like stone, the temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and originally 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa. The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has one of the world's most extensive collections of Buddhist reliefs.
Prambanan Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. This temple is also known as the Roro Jongrang Temple. Since 1991, by UNESCO this temple was designated as a world cultural preserve that must be protected. Prambanan Temple has a height of 47 meters or 5 meters higher than the Borobudur Temple.
Prambanan Temple is located in Klaten, in the border region of Central Java and Yogyakarta. The Prambanan Temple structure describes Hindu’s belief called the Trimurti. The complex has three temples on the main yard, namely Siwa Temple, Brahma Temple and Wisnu Temple.
Meanwhile, the relief carved on the walls of the Prambanan Temple tells the story of the Ramayana. There are also Kalpataru tree reliefs, where Hindus consider the tree as a symbol of sustainability, life and harmony. The existence of these trees illustrates the Javanese community at that time had an awareness in preserving their environment.
One of favourite tourist object in Semarang Regency is the Old City. It is an area which the colonial government used to serve as a commercial center in the past. Here, you can find Dutch heritage buildings, such as Blenduk Church, Tawang Railway Station, Mberok Bridge, Praoe Lajar Cigarette Factory and many others.
In this old city you will find something extraordinary, the beauty of a grand and luxurious old building, all of which still stand firm with their own pride. FYI, the Old City of Semarang is also nicknamed as The Little Netherlands, because the concept and governance of the place is very similar to one corner of the city in the Netherlands.
Travelling to Solo will never be enough without visiting Laweyan Batik Village – a unique, artistic and historical area which was the starting point of the city Solo (Surakarta). In Laweyan, visitors can have an exquisite shopping experience, industrial visit, educational visit, cultural heritage trip, historical and culinary safari.
Laweyan Village has existed since the Kingdom of Pajang ruled in Central Java, which is around 16th century. Besides shopping for authentic Solo batik, tourist can also ejoy the beauty of a sturdy and magnificent European building architecture, seen in the houses that used to belong to rich batik merchants.
According to history, the residents of this village began to batik since ancient times. Until now, residents of Kampung Laweyan are still doing the batik works. For batik lovers, there are at least 50 Batik shops in this area selling various kinds of batik products with reasonable prices.