Ambarrukmo steadfast amid amid modernization

Ambarrukmo steadfast amid amid modernization

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

Very soon Pesanggrahan Ambarrukmo, popularly called Kedhaton
Ambarrukmo, will stand between two modern buildings -- Hotel
Ambarrukmo and Plaza Ambarrukmo.

Kedhaton is high Javanese for small palace.

The palace, once a place of leisure for Yogyakarta's sultans
Hamengkubuwono V through to Hamengkubuwono VII, is surely rich in
history. Even the newer building, Hotel Ambarrukmo, has abundant
stories from the past.

Built in the 1960s in eastern Yogyakarta, the hotel is located
inside the compound of the pesanggrahan (leisure house) compound
and was the first modern building in Yogyakarta and, in a wider
context, its establishment marked the long course of tourism in
the city.

The kedhaton building is one of the rare old buildings in the
city that still has classical Javanese architecture. Next to it
is the hotel's modern eight-story building. The building was
seized from the Japanese administration and later reconstructed
and transformed into a hotel.

Once construction was finished and the hotel started business
on March 30, 1966, Yogyakarta people and many others from
neighboring Central Java were fascinated with the first
multistory building that was equipped with modern facilities,
including a lift.

The story goes that starting from that day, people from
throughout Yogyakarta and Central Java flocked to the hotel to
try out the lift.

In the late 1960s, a lift was an enigma to the community, and
not only did they test the lift, they also got the rare chance to
enjoy an "aerial" view of their own city from a high building.

"Every time I remember those years I feel ridiculous. Imagine
people coming from afar on trucks to see Yogya from the highest
building in the city," said Sundari, a former employee at the
hotel.

"The people only wanted to experience the lift and after that
they would descend and board their trucks and leave."

"That went on for months," Sundari, who worked in house
keeping, told The Jakarta Post.

Surprisingly, it was not only lower-income people who were
intrigued by the lift, but also middle to upper class people
experienced this kind of "cultural shock" with the presence of a
modern hotel, which was managed by Japan's Okura group.

Almost every day wives of high-ranking officials or
socialites, coming in groups, attended the international table
manner course at the hotel.

"Table manner course fever literally hit the city. A number of
institutions, including the Armed Forces Academy, routinely
invited us to give lectures on the matter," Sundari said.

And soon, a new building will be built on the historical site
of pesanggrahan Ambarrukmo. Plaza Ambarrukmo is boasted to be the
most modern and grandiose shopping center in Yogyakarta.

The two modern buildings -- the hotel and the shopping center
-- are expected to help sustain the beauty of Kedhaton
Ambarrukmo, which is costly to maintain.

Initially named Pesanggrahan Arjo Purno, the small palace was
built under the administration of Sultan Hamengkubuwono V, who
reigned from 1823 through 1855. When his successor Hamengkubuwono
VII (1877-1921) was in power, the palace was reconstructed and
renamed Kedhaton Ambarrukmo.

Ambarrukmo means something fragrant with the sheen of gold.

The reconstruction included adding Pendapa Agung (main hall),
Ndalem Ageng (main residence), Gandok (kitchen), Bale Kambang
(park) and Kandang Kuda (stables).

The kedhaton also had a place for semedi (contemplation) in
Bale Kambang. Bale Kambang resembles a gazebo. The two-story
building stands proud in the middle of a water fountain.

Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII fell in love with the palace and
spent his old age there up until he passed away on Dec. 30, 1921.

Bale Kambang is now the hotel restaurant and offers high
Javanese countryside ambience and is renowned for its original
Javanese dishes.

Pendapa Agung is used for special functions like traditional
weddings and other traditional ceremonies.

But today some parts of the old palace are closed because of
the ongoing construction within its proximity. Although sultans
no longer stayed at the pesanggrahan on weekends after Sultan
Hamengkubuwono VII passed away, this small palace still gets
special treatment, with abdi dalem (royal maids) still cleaning
parts of it and placing offerings in some corners on certain
days.

One of the rooms in Ndalem Ageng in which sultans often spent
the night remains off limits to the public and hotel employees.

Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX used the hotel building as a school
for police inspectors shortly after the country declared
independence in 1945. In the 1960s it was decided that the city
should have a hotel, and the police school was renovated into
one.

Management of the hotel has changed over the years, from
various groups like the Okura group, the Sheraton group and PT
Indonesia Natour.

Natour's license expired on Feb. 24, 2004 and management of
the hotel was returned to the Yogyakarta palace. However, an
agreement has been signed between the palace and the Santika
Group to run the hotel, which explains why the hotel is having a
massive facelift.

Considering its name, it can be expected that the compound
will shine bright and its fragrance will spread to its
surroundings because there is a palace highly respected in
between the modernization.