Jogja is a landmark monument of the most famous city of Yogyakarta. This
monument is located right in the middle of the intersection Mangkubumi
Prince Street, Jalan Sudirman, Jalan AM Sangaji, and Jalan Diponegoro. Monument Jogja nearly 3 centuries-old has a deep meaning and store some historical record of the city.
Monument Jogja was established about a year after the sultan's palace stood. At
its inception, the building is expressly describes manunggaling gusti
subjects, the spirit of unity of the people and rulers to resist
occupation. The spirit of unity, or the so-called golong gilig was clearly illustrated in the monument building. Tiangngya gilig shaped (cylindrical) and the peak shape golong (round), so called monument golong gilig.
In detail, the building at the beginning of Jogja monument built a conical shaped cylinder pole upward. The bottom is in the form of a circular fence while the rounded top. Height of building the monument was originally reached 25 meters. Everything changed on 10 June 1867. The earthquake that shook Yogyakarta when it makes monument building collapsed. You
could say when this pillar collapse is a transition, before the meaning
of unity is really not reflected in the monument building.
The situation completely changed in 1889, when the Dutch government renovated the monument building. The
monument is made a square with each side decorated with a kind of
inscription that indicates who was involved in the renovation. If there is observed which is the star of David Jewish symbol. The top of the monument is no longer round, but the pointy cone-shaped. The height of buildings also will be lower only to 15 meters, 10 meters lower than the original building. Since then, this monument also called De Witt White Pal Paal or monument. Renovation of this building is actually a tactic to erode the unity between Dutch people and the king. However, seeing the struggle of the people and the king held in Yogyakarta later, we know the effort is unsuccessful.
If
you want to look at Monument Jogja as much as he recalled his
philosophical meaning, available benches facing the monument at the
corner of Prince Street Mangkubumi. At 4:00-5:00 early morning is a good time, when the air is still fresh and not much motor vehicle traffic. Occasionally you may be greeted with a friendly smile delivering newspapers.