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.