History

Taman Sari belonged to Jogjakarta, a part of Mataram Kingdom. Mataram originally had been a great kingdom consisted of many sovereignties. The largest was Surakarta.

Jogjakarta was founded by Prince Mangkubumi, a relative of Pakubuwono II, who is the ruler of Surakarta. Having a grudge against VOC whose influence in Mataram kingdom kept growing, he turned against his former sovereignty, Surakarta and VOC. After years of guerrilla warfare, he finally established a sovereignty of his own, called Jogjakarta.

Ascending the throne, Prince Mangkubumi became Sultan Hamengku Buwono I. VOC and Surakarta acknowledged Hamengku Buwono I’s rule through the Giyanti Agreement in 1755.

Taman Sari was located at the capital city, with the same name as the sovereignty itself, Jogjakarta.

Do You Know?
The Dutch colonized Indonesia through a multinational trading company called Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (The Dutch East India Company) or VOC. This is why ancient Indonesians called Dutch representatives “Kumpeni.”