Prambanan: Architectural Magnificence

Built in the 9th century, Prambanan consists of two hundred Hindu temple sites.

Prambanan temple is 47 meters high and 34 meters wide, which is the tallest of its kind.

The reliefs of Prambanan tell the story of a Hindu epic and narrative of Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana.

The Legend of Roro Jonggrang

Story has it that the 1,000th statue of the temple was the statue of a slender virgin lady named Roro Jonggrang, who turned into stone by a young and powerful man named Bandung Bondowoso after her attempt to thwart Bondowoso’s effort in building a thousand temples and two wells in one night for the lady failed. Bondowoso was in love with Roro Jonggrang and asked her to marry him.

However, Roro Jonggrang was full of hatred because Bondowoso killed her father; hence she tried to refuse his proposal by asking him a seemingly impossible task. As a man who had unseen troop of spirits, it was easy for Bondowoso to finish the task.

After nearly a thousand temples had been built, Roro Jonggrang asked the villagers to pound rice and to set a fire in order to look like the morning had broken. This way, the spirits had no choice but left before completing the last one temple. Bondowoso realised that the lady had cheated him so he turned Roro Jonggrang into the 1,000th statue. This is a very interesting folklore that local people love to share.

In the 10th century the temple was largely abandoned because the Mataram dynasty moved to East Java. It then collapsed during a major earthquake in the 16th century.

However, even after surviving natural disasters, including the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquakes, many locals have come together to restore the temple complex.