The sultan's palace ( kraton ) was formerly surrounded by an ensemble of residential buildings equipped with gardens, stables and barracks to house staff and courtiers. The entire complex was enclosed by a wall with four openings. Today this district..

Without a doubt one of Java's most interesting museums. The collection includes Dong-Son bronzes from East Indonesia, megalithic statues from Wonosari and opulent bronze Hindu goddesses (10C-12C). The art of Majapahit (East Java) is represented wit..

The Alun-alun Utara is a vast green square adorned with two sacred banyan trees which plays host to the city's parades and events. For one month in the year, the square is given over to a public festival but for the rest of the time it is the preserv..

Built in 1773 under Hamengkubuwono I, the Great Mosque or Mesjid Agung has maintained all of its original components. Closely linked to the kraton and its various ceremonies, the mosque comes under the direction of a city notable, the pangulu , wh..

A sacred seat of power, the palace is to this day occupied by the sultan – currently Hamengkubuwono X – who is roughly equivalent to a governor. Its layout reflects Javanese cosmogony: the multiple courtyards and buildings are laid out around the Pe..

Taman Sari was the sultans' pleasure palace. Although seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1867, it has retained the old-fashioned charm of a spot devoted to relaxation and meditation. Behind the residence (the water palace , as the Dutch called it..

A modest but fascinating private collection that survives as best it can from donations left by the 10 or so visitors each month. Only some of the 400 pieces in the museum's collection are on display (most come from Pekalongan, on the north coast), b..

Nowadays, the first capital of Mataram, founded in 1575 by Panembahan Senopati (whose tomb is greatly venerated by the Javanese), is nothing more than a quiet suburb of Yogyakarta. Yet it has preserved from its golden age a robust silver work tradi..

Jalan Malioboro is the city's north-south axis through the city centre, and was originally conceived by the Sultan Hamengkubuwono I (late 18C) in a bid to link the kraton , the seat of power, to the Merapi Volcano, some 30km away. Its incessant traf..

Built in 1813 by Yogyakarta's second dynasty, the Pakualaman ("pivot of the universe"), this palace faces south in a sign of obedience to Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. Like the kraton (albeit in a much smaller format), its layout comp..