Tirtagangga Water Palace lovingly refurbished

Tirtagangga Water Palace lovingly refurbished

Tirtagangga (literally meaning the blessed water of Gangga, the
most important river in Hindu belief) Water Palace is located at
Ababi village, some seven kilometers north of Amlapura, the
capital of Karangasem regency, or around two hours' drive from
the island's capital, Denpasar.

The 2.5-hectare complex was built in 1946 by the last King of
Karangasem, Ida Anak Agoeng Angeloerah Ktoet Karangasem, as a
royal bathing and leisure compound.

Situated amid vast paddy fields and surrounded by scenic
hills, Tirtangga has been a favorite spot for both the members of
the royal family and ordinary people.

Tirtagangga consists of three levels. A small temple, a spring
under a banyan tree, the upper swimming pool and two decorative
ponds are situated on the highest, northern level.

The complex's center and main attraction, the towering eleven-
tiered fountain, which rises from a beautiful pond, is located on
the middle level. This is also graced by two inviting large
ponds.

The lowest level, which is separated from the middle by a
straight footpath running from the complex's entrance in the east
to the Wantilan open pavilion at the complex's westernmost area,
includes a large fishpond with a long island in the middle of it.

In 1963, Bali's largest and holiest mountain, Agung, located
only 25 kilometers away, erupted, triggering a series of powerful
earthquakes that severely damaged the complex.

Around that time, the Indonesian government introduced the
Land Reform Bill, which stripped the country's royal families of
most of their territorial possessions, thus sharply cutting their
income. The royal family of Karangasem experienced a similar
fate. Consequently, any effort to restore the water palace was
hampered by this lack of financial resources.

In 1979, Anak Agung Made Djelantik, the son of Ida Anak Agoeng
Angeloerah Ktoet Karangasem, managed to carry out limited
restoration to several facilities at the complex, with the help
of the local administration.

Currently, a comprehensive restoration program, aimed at
reviving the initial beauty of the water palace, is being carried
out by the grandsons and granddaughters of the last King of
Karangasem.

The program is being led by accomplished civil engineer Anak
Agung Gede Dharma Widoere Djelantik. At his very informative
Internet site (tirtagangga.nl), Widoere describes in great detail
the restoration program, due for completion in 2006 and divided
into three stages.

Several new buildings will be added to the complex to provide
additional space for exhibitions, conferences and a handicraft
center. Numerous new plants and statues will be placed in
strategic spots to enhance the palace's beauty. A waste treatment
and disposal facility will also be constructed to ensure the
complex's cleanliness. The pools will be refurbished, using the
original Karangasem-style tiles and the currently rusty iron
fence will be torn down and replaced by an artistic new one.

The estimated total cost of the restoration program will be
around US$254,500. Widoere, through the Donors of Tirtagangga
foundation he set up in Gouda, the Netherlands, has so far
managed to raise donations of around 43,000 euros from concerned
individuals and private institutions.

Thus far, the restoration committee has achieved many things.
There are now several garbage containers at various locations in
the complex. The pools are cleaner, the water supply is more
stable. More importantly, the eleven-tiered water fountain -- the
complex's most important structure -- is now working perfectly.
And the nearby pond, which is now decorated with rows of
new statues of characters from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, is
surely more beautiful that it used to be.

In future, the Tirtagangga Water Palace is hoped to serve not
only as an important architectural statement or recreational
spot, but also as a center for the performing arts, a meditation
center, a small-scale drinking water plant and a conduit for the
local's handicraft products, from which, hopefully, will flow a
stream of prosperity for the local surrounding population.

-- I Wayan Juniartha