The Pura Mangkunegaran is a palace complex in the city of Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. It is the official palace and residence of the Duke of Mangkunegara and his family. The palace complex is one of the centers of Javanese culture and contains a museum exhibiting royal artefacts of Mangkunegaran. The palace complex was built in 1757 (AJ 1690) following the style of Kraton by the command of Mangkunegara I, the first Duke of Mangkunegaran.[1]
This royal palace was built after the Treaty of Salatiga was signed by Mangkunegara I, Hamengkubuwana I, Pakubuwana III, and the VOC in March 1757. The treaty initiated the creation of the Duchy of Mangkunegaran and the investiture of Mangkunegara I as the first ruler.
Like any other palaces in Java, The Pura Mangkunegaran had experienced several renovations, rejuvenation, changes in its parts and structures, and also the addition of popular European style to its architecture during the Dutch colonisation.
The next destination is Sukuh temple and Cetho temple. Sukuh (Indonesian: Candi Sukuh, Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈtʃandi ˈsukʊh]) is a 15th-century Javanese-Hindu temple (candi) that is located in Berjo, Ngargoyoso district, Karanganyar Regency, Central Java, Indonesia on the western slope of Mount Lawu (elevation 910 metres (2,990 ft)). This temple has a height of 87 metres. Sukuh temple has a distinctive thematic relief from other candi where life before birth and sexual education are its main themes. Its main monument is a simple pyramid structure with reliefs and statues in front of it, including three tortoises with flattened shells and a male figure grasping his penis. A giant 1.82 m (6 ft) high of Shishna with four testes, representing penile incisions,[1] was one of the statues that has been relocated to the National Museum of Indonesia.
The Ceto (Indonesian: Candi Ceto) is a fifteenth-century Javanese-Hindu temple that is located on the western slope of Mount Lawu (elev. 1495 m above sea level) on the border between Central and East Java provinces.
Cetho is one of several temples built on the northwest slopes of Mount Lawu in the fifteenth century. By this time, Javanese religion and art had diverged from Indian precepts that had been so influential on temple styles during the 8th-10th century. This area was the last significant area of temple building in Java before the island's courts were converted to Islam in the 16th century. The temples' distinctiveness and the lack of records of Javanese ceremonies and beliefs of the era make it difficult for historians to interpret the significance of these antiquities.
