Place:Surakarta, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Surakarta, known colloquially as Solo, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km² (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and west, and Sukoharjo Regency to the south. On the eastern side of Solo lies Solo River (Bengawan Solo). Its built-up area, consisting of Surakarta City and 59 districts spread over seven regencies ("Greater Solo Area", formerly Special Region of Surakarta), was home to 3,649,254 inhabitants as of 2010 census, around half million of which reside in the city proper.

Surakarta is the birthplace of the current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. He served as Mayor of Surakarta from 2005 to 2012.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Hominid habitation in the region of Surakarta is evidenced from roughly one million years ago, the age of the "Java Man" and "Solo Man" skeletons found 80 kilometers upstream.

The Surakarta area was part of the Medang Kingdom and in this time a village called Wulayu seems to have already existed in or around the present-day city of Surakarta, as evidenced by a ferry charter issued by Balitung in A.D. 904. The Majapahit empire renewed this ferry charter in 1358.

By the 18th century, the village had acquired the name of Sala. As the Javanese pronunciation "Sala" ([sɔlɔ]) was considered difficult to pronounce by the Dutch, the name later morphed into "Solo" ([solo]). In 1745, on the basis of astrological calculations and Dutch commercial interest, Surakarta was chosen to be the new capital of the Mataram Sultanate which was on the verge of becoming a vassal state of the Dutch East India Company. The formal name is derived from the previous capital Kartasura. The official court history claims that Surakarta originally stood on a lake, which was drained by the favor of the mythical queen of the southern sea, Kanjeng Ratu Kidul.

In the ensuing colonial era, the kingdom of Mataram was divided into the Surakarta Sunanate (northern court) and the Yogyakarta Sultanate (southern court). Surakarta ruled by a succession of sunans, who were given the unique Javanese cultural title Susuhunan. Since both Surakarta and Yogyakarta had become vassal states of the Dutch, traditional court arts, notably gamelan, were developed to demonstrate cultural power instead of developing military power.

Pakubuwono X

Perhaps the most significant ruler of the 20th century was Pakubuwono X. His relationship with the Dutch, his large family, and his popularity contributed to perhaps the largest funeral procession that ever occurred in Surakarta. He had spent a large amount of money on the Royal Graveyard at Imogiri, both the main sections of the graveyard and the new section that he was buried in. In the era just prior to independence Surakarta had European, Chinese, and Arab quarters.

Struggle for Independence

After hearing the proclamation of Indonesian Independence, Pakubuwono XII declared Surakarta a part of the Republic of Indonesia (RI). Because of this support, President Sukarno declared Surakarta the Daerah Istimewa Surakarta (DIS)/"Surakarta Special Region" with the Pakubuwono XII continuing as governor.

In October 1945, a republican movement was established in Surakarta led by Tan Malaka, a member of the Indonesian Communist Party. On October 17, the vizier of Surakarta, KRMH Sosrodiningrat V (a member of the BPUPK), was kidnapped. The new vizier, KRMT Yudonagoro, and 9 other court officials were also kidnapped by the same movement in March 1946. The next in the line of succession, KRMTH Wuryaningrat, was also kidnapped but was let go. In response to this general lawlessness, Prime Minister of Indonesia Sutan Syahrir met with Wuryaningrat and other Surakarta leaders in May and agreed to abolish the established government entirely. On June 16, 1946, the Surakarta "special region" was abolished and replaced with a regency (kabupaten). This event is commemorated as the birthday of the city of Surakarta.

On June 26, Sutan Syahrir was kidnapped in Surakarta by a rebel movement led by Major General Soedarsono, the commander of the 3rd division. President Sukarno was angry at this kidnapping and on July 1, 1946, 14 communist leaders including Tan Malaka were arrested by Indonesian police on Sukarno's instructions. However, Soedarsono freed the rebel leaders immediately. Sukarno asked the local military commander in Surakarta, Lieutenant Colonel Suharto to arrest Major General Soedarsono and the rebel group. Suharto refused to follow this command unless it was given directly by the Military Chief of Staff, General Soedirman. Sukarno was angry at this rejection of his commanding authority, and called Suharto a stubborn (koppig) officer.

Suharto pretended that he supported the rebellion and persuaded Soedarsono and his group to stay at his headquarters at Wiyoro, Surakarta for their own safety. Later that night he persuaded Soedarsono to meet President Sukarno at his palace the next morning. Suharto secretly informed the presidential guard troops about Soedarsono's plan on the next morning. On July 3, 1946, Soedarsono and his group were arrested by the presidential guard near the palace. Prime Minister Syahrir was released unharmed. Several months later, Maj. Gen. Soedarsono and his group were pardoned and released from prison.

However, this did not halt the ascendancy of the Communist Party in Surakarta. In November 1946, the communists kidnapped the regent and vice-regent and seized power for themselves, a coup quickly legitimated after the fact by Sukarno. In 1947, Amir Sjarifuddin appointed Wikana, a communist, as Surakarta's military governor.

In December 1948, the Dutch attacked and occupied the cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta as part of Operation Kraai. The Indonesian army led by General Soedirman started a guerrilla war from surrounding areas. The Dutch said that the Republic was destroyed and no longer existed. To disprove this claim, the Indonesian army conducted large-scale raids into the cities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, called Serangan Oemoem. On August 7, 1949, Indonesian troops led by Slamet Riyadi managed to beat the Dutch troops and occupy the city for several hours. To commemorate this event, the main street of the city of Surakarta was renamed "Brigadier General Slamet Riyadi Street".

Surakarta remained under communist control until October 1965. Local government was unclear about how to proceed after the 30 September Movement and went about business as usual. As a result, Suharto's forces entered Surakarta without resistance, mobilized local youth paramilitaries, and indiscriminately slaughtered the entire local government.

Research Tips