Braga Weg

Jalan Braga Jalan Braga adalah nama sebuah jalan utama di kota Bandung, Indonesia. Nama jalan ini cukup dikenal sejak masa pemerintahan Hindia-Belanda. Sampai saat ini nama jalan tersebut tetap dipertahankan sebagai salah satu maskot dan obyek wisata kota Bandung yang dahulu dikenal sebagai Parijs van Java. Lingkungan Di sisi kanan kiri Jalan Braga terdapat kompleks pertokoan yang memiliki arsitektur dan tata kota yang tetap mempertahankan ciri arsitektur lama pada masa Hindia Belanda. Tata letak pertokoan tersebut mengikuti model yang ada di Eropa sesuai dengan perkembangan kota Bandung pada masa itu (1920-1940-an) sebagai kota mode yang cukup termasyhur seperti halnya kota Paris pada saat itu. Di antara pertokoan tersebut yang masih mempertahankan ciri arsitektur lama adalah pertokoan Sarinah, Apotek Kimia Farma dan Gedung Merdeka (Gedung Asia Afrika yang dulunya adalah gedung Societeit Concordia). Model tata letak jalan dan gedung gedung pertokoan dan perkantoran yang berada di Jalan Braga juga terlihat pada model jalan-jalan lain di sekitar Jalan Braga seperti Jalan Suniaraja (dulu dikenal sebagai Jalan Parapatan Pompa) dan Jalan Pos Besar (Postweg)('sekarang Jalan Asia-Afrika') yang dibangun oleh Gubernur Jendral Herman Willem Daendels pada tahun 1811, di depan Gedung Merdeka. Sejarah Awalnya Jalan Braga adalah sebuah jalan kecil di depan pemukiman yang cukup sunyi sehingga dinamakan Jalan Culik karena cukup rawan, juga dikenal sebagai Jalan Pedati (Pedatiweg) pada tahun 1900-an. Jalan Braga menjadi ramai karena banyak usahawan-usahawan terutama berkebangsaan Belanda mendirikan toko-toko, bar dan tempat hiburan di kawasan itu seperti toko Onderling Belang. Kemudian pada dasawarsa 1920-1930-an muncul toko-toko dan butik (boutique) pakaian yang mengambil model di kota Paris, Perancis yang saat itu merupakan kiblat model pakaian di dunia. Dibangunnya gedung Societeit Concordia yang digunakan untuk pertemuan para warga Bandung khususnya kalangan tuan-tuan hartawan, Hotel Savoy Homann, gedung perkantoran dan lain-lain di beberapa blok di sekitar jalan ini juga meningkatkan kemasyhuran dan keramaian jalan ini. Namun sisi buruknya adalah munculnya hiburan-hiburan malam dan kawasan lampu merah (kawasan remang-remang) di kawasan ini yang membuat Jalan Braga sangat dikenal turis. Dari sinilah istilah kota Bandung sebagai kota kembang mulai dikenal. Sehingga perhimpunan masyarakat warga Bandung saat itu membuat selebaran dan pengumuman agar "Para Tuan-tuan Turis sebaiknya tidak mengunjungi Bandung apabila tidak membawa istri atau meninggalkan istri di rumah". Di beberapa daerah dan kota-kota yang berdiri serta berkembang pada masa Hindia Belanda, juga dikenal nama jalan-jalan yang dikenal seperti halnya Jalan Braga di Bandung seperti Jalan Kayoetangan di kota Malang yang juga cukup termasyhur dikalangan para Turis terutama dari negeri Belanda juga Jalan Malioboro di Yogyakarta dan beberapa ruas jalan di Jakarta. Namun sayangnya nama asli jalan ini tidak dipertahankan atau diubah dari nama sebelumnya yang dianggap populer seperti halnya Jalan Kayoetangan di kota Malang diganti menjadi Jalan Basuki Rahmat.di ambil dari Wikipedia tentang Jl. Braga Bandung

SITU Patengan adalah sebuah danau yang berada di kaki Gunung Patuha, Kabupaten Bandung. Situ ini menjadi salah satu objek wisata yang cukup digandrungi di kawasan Bandung selatan. Terlebih di sana ada ”batu cinta” yang menjadi daya tarik pengunjung. Ya, batu cinta, sebuah batu yang terletak di pulau yang ada di tengah situ, yakni Pulau Sasuka atau orang sering menyebutnya sebagai Pulau Asmara. Batu cinta ini mengiringi legenda Situ Patengan. Konon, situ yang airnya berasal dari Sungai Cirengganis ini merupakan kumpulan air mata dari pasangan Dewi Rengganis dan Ki Santang, yang cintanya tak bisa bersatu karena suatu keadaan. Namun, mereka akhirnya bisa kembali bertemu pada sebuah batu setelah sekian lama saling mencari. Batu inilah yang kelak dinamakan batu cinta. Mitos pun menyeruak, bagi pasangan yang berkunjung ke batu itu, cinta mereka akan abadi. Nama Patengan pun diduga diambil dari kisah pasangan dalam legenda tersebut, yakni dari kata pateangan-teangan yang dalam bahasa Sunda berarti saling mencari. Terlepas dari legendanya, Situ Patengan memang memiliki daya tarik tersendiri. Sejauh mata memandang, pengunjung dapat menikmati pemandangan indah berupa hamparan perkebunan teh, pegunungan, perkebunan stroberi, serta hutan yang mengelilinginya. Suasana terasa semakin nyaman karena kawasan ini berhawa sejuk. Bahkan, setiap harinya nyaris selalu ditandangi kabut. Pengunjung pun bisa mengelilingi danau menggunakan perahu. Sama halnya dengan legenda batu cinta, konon, jika pasangan mengelilingi situ ini akan diberikan kelanggengan. Situ Patengan pun menyimpan potensi flora dan fauna. Beberapa flora dan fauna unik dapat ditemui di kawasan ini. Apalagi, Situ Patengan telah menjadi taman wisata sejak tahun 1981 yang sebelumnya merupakan kawasan cagar alam. Pepohonan khas Jawa Barat, sejenis puspa dan saninten, masih banyak ditemukan. Jenis primata langka, surili (Presbytis comata), juga masih kerap terlihat dan terdengar suaranya di hutan sekitar situ. Untuk jenis ikan, situ ini menjadi habitat ikan sejenis nila, mas, dan tawes. Situ Patengan rutin menjadi tempat kegiatan penanaman bibit ikan dan tanaman setiap tahunnya, yaitu setiap tanggal 14 Maulid. Pada hari itu juga dilaksanakan ritus syukuran yang dilakukan masyarakat sekitar Situ Patengan di Pulau Sasuka. Acara itu juga merupakan bentuk penghormatan pada tanah leluhur, dilakukan semalam suntuk, dan terbuka untuk umum. diambil dari Pikiran Rakyat Online (Kania D.N./Periset D“PR”)***

Bogor

Bogor is a city in West Java with a population of approximately 800,000 people in the CBD area and 2,000,000 in suburban area, bringing a total of 3 million population. It was the capital of Indonesia during the British occupation under Stamford Raffles and was used as the capital by the Dutch during the dry season, then known as Buitenzorg (meaning "beyond worry").

Bogor boasts a presidential palace, a deer park and a botanical garden in the town centre. It is home to the Institut Pertanian Bogor (or Bogor Institute of Agriculture) and CIFOR, the Center for International Forestry Research.

Bogor is on a main road from Jakarta to Bandung, over the Puncak pass. To the south of the city are large tea plantations. During colonial times the Bogor area developed as a centre for plantations. Apart from the tea (Mount Mas), there were coffee plantations at nearby Sukabumi and later vast rubber plantations that stretched from Bogor as far as Citereup and Bukit Sentul.

The suburban area of Bogor is part of the Bogor Regency, while the urban is the Bogor City. Currently Bogor bears the nickname "the Rain City" (Kota Hujan), suggesting that it is very wet and nearly always rains even during the dry season.

History

In 450 A.D. Bogor was part of Tarumanegara, the very first Hindu kingdom in Java, and the second in Indonesia after the Kutai Kingdom in Kalimantan. The most popular king of Tarumanegara was Purnavarman, who ruled around the 5th century. It was during his reign the kingdom reached its golden era. The city was then, with the name Pakuan, the capital of Sunda Kingdom, whence came the founder of the Majapahit empire, Raden Wijaya. Bogor was later part of the Pajajaran Kingdom (1482), ruled by King Siliwangi.

Bogor now houses numerous stone inscriptions (prasasti) from both the Tarumanegara and the Sunda Kingdom. These inscriptions, scattered throughout the urban, suburban, and rural areas of Bogor, are written in Sanskrit using the Pallava writing system.

The most well-known inscriptions are:

* Ciaruteun inscription

This is a large boulder found in a streambed upon which Purnavarman's footprints were engraved together with his Pallava handwriting. The set of footprints show to many that Purnavarman was a kind of divine being, or an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Indeed, the text on the stone compares his footprints to Vishnu's.
The boulder has now been removed to a protected location with metal fences surrounding it, just a few kilometres away from the river where it was discovered.

* Kaki Gajah inscription

As its name implies, this brown flat stone bears a set of an elephant's footprints. The elephant is presumed to be the royal elephant Purnavarman rode on. The text compares it to the mythical elephant Airawata which belongs to another Hindu god Indra. This inscription was discovered not far from Prasasti Ciaruteun.

* Batutulis inscription

This inscription is located in Batutulis area in the urban Bogor. It is now placed inside a house, across from former president Sukarno's house. It is actually a collection of four stones made by Prabu Surawisesa, one of king Siliwangi's son to honor his father. The first small stone, bearing Siliwangi's footprints, is placed in front of the second stone engraved with the impressions of his knees. The third one is a large, flat, upright brown stone carved with the king's Sanskrit handwriting. These three stones are arranged in such a way that they give the impression that the king was actually kneeling down when carving.
The last stone is a strange cylindrical rock that is set beside the rest of them. Many people say it was Siliwangi's staff, although it seems impossible since this rock is quite wide in diameter.

Rubber trees were brought to Buitenzorg's botanical gardens in 1883.[1]

In 2004, Bogor and St. Louis, Missouri, USA became Sister Cities.

Language

The traditional language of Bogor is Sundanese. However, many think that Bogor's Sundanese is somewhat harsher and uses much more slang than any other part of the province[citation needed]. Due to the expansion of Jakarta, more people from different places and different ethnicities stay in Bogor. Indonesian, the official national language, is becoming more common in the urban area.

Transportation

The easiest and the most popular means of transportation in Bogor is the public vans ("angkot", the acronym of angkutan kota). They serve certain routes indicated by the combination of their numbers and their colours, which come in green and blue. These angkots are run by private owners and the prices are fixed.

Buses and taxis are not present in particularly large numbers, especially taxis because they are relatively expensive. Minibuses are more commonly seen in the city. Meanwhile, the railroads connect Bogor to other big cities in Java, such as Jakarta (to the north) and Sukabumi (to the south).

For leisure means, the traditional horse carriages are available. These are called delman, and they have only two wheels, different from the four-wheeled andong existing only in the province of Yogyakarta. Delman in Bogor are not delicately decorated like their fellows in Jakarta, Bandung, or Yogyakarta.

There are also becak, a type of man-pedaled carriages in which the driver pedals at the back and the passengers' seat facing front with a roof above. A becak can only carry two or three people at a time. Becak can also be used to deliver heavy loads such as fruits and vegetables around wet markets.

In addition, Bogor is also accessible via Jagorawi Tollway, which is the earliest tollway in Indonesia.

Taken from. Wikipedia

Indramayu

The town of Indramayu is located in the North coastal area of West Java, and East from Jakarta (the capital) and North East from the city of Bandung and North West of the city of Cirebon. The town of Indramayu is situated below sea level, which means that it is risky if there is high tide in stormy conditions. The town is only protected by some dunes and barrages at the seaside. The climate is quite dry. The number of (registered) citizens of Indramayu regency is about 1.6 miljon. The town itself only inhabited by less than 24.000 people. The estimated land surface of the town of Indramayu is 2.006 square kilometres. Crude oil is found in the Indramayu area. The local population nearby the shore are living from fishing. Furthermore there is kapok, clove, citrus and other fruit cultivating. Indramayu is famous for the special sweet mangosteens. Indramayu was knowns as Indonesian nr 1. rice Supplier in early 80's to late 90's. Because of a lack of industry and labour provision, there is a migration to other parts of Indonesia.

Taken from : www.wikipedia.com

pasundan land of smile

West Java

West Java (Indonesian: Jawa Barat), with population around 35.72 million, is the most populous province of Indonesia, located on Java Island. Its capital city is Bandung.

History

The oldest human inhabitant archaeological findings in the region were unearthed in Anyer (the western coast of Java) with evidences of bronze and iron metallurgical culture dated back to the first millennium AD. The prehistoric Buni (the present-day Bekasi) clay pottery were later developed with evidences found from Anyer to Cirebon. Some artifacts (dated from 400 BC — AD 100) such as food and drink containers were found mostly as burial gifts. There is also archeological evidence in Batujaya Archaeological Site dating from the 2nd century, and according to Dr Tony Djubiantono, the head of Bandung Archeology Agency, Jiwa Temple in Batujaya, Karawang, West Java was also built around this time.

Recorded history of West Java administration was started from the fourth century with the existence of Tarumanagara kingdom. Seven inscribed stones written in Wengi letters (used in the Indian Pallava period) and in Sanskrit language describe most of the kings of Tarumanagara. Records of Tarumanegara's administration lasted until the sixth century, which coincides with the attack of Srivijaya as stated in the Kota Kapur inscription (AD 686).

The Sunda kingdom then came into the ruling power of the region, the reference to which were found in the Kebon Kopi II inscription (AD 932).

An ulema known today as Sunan Gunung Jati settled in Banten Girang, with the intention of spreading the world of Islam in this still pagan town. In the meantime, the Sultanate of Demak from central Java grew into an immediate threat to Sunda kingdom. To defend against the threat, Prabu Surawisesa Jayaperkosa signed a treaty (known as the Luso Sundanese Treaty) with the Portuguese in 1512. In return, the Portuguese was granted an accession to build fortresses and warehouses in the area, as well as trading agreement with the kingdom. This first international treaty of West Java with the Europeans was commemorated by the placement of the Padrao stone monument at the riverbank of the Ciliwung River in 1522.

Although the treaty with Portuguese had been established, it could not come to realization. Sunda Kalapa harbour fell under the alliance of the Sultanate of Demak and the Sultanate of Cirebon (former vassal state of Sunda kingdom) in 1524 after their troops under Paletehan alias Fadillah Khan had conquered the city. In 1524/1525, their troops under Sunan Gunung Jati also seized the port of Banten and established the Sultanate of Banten which was affiliating with the Sultanate of Demak. The war between the Sunda kingdom with Demak and Cirebon sultanates then continued for five years until a peace treaty were made in 1531 between King Surawisesa and Sunan Gunung Jati. From 1567 to 1579, under the last king Raja Mulya, alias Prabu Surya Kencana, Sunda kingdom declined essentially under the pressure from the Sultanate of Banten. After 1576, the kingdom could not maintain its capital at Pakuan Pajajaran (the present-day Bogor) and gradually the Sultanate of Banten took over the former Sunda kingdom's region. The Mataram Sultanate from central Java also seized the Priangan region, the southeastern part of the kingdom.

In the sixteenth century, the Dutch and the British trading companies established their trading ships in West Java after the falldown of Sultanate of Banten. For the next three hundred years, West Java fell under the Dutch East Indies' administration. West Java was officially declared as a province of Indonesia in 1950, referring to a statement from Staatblad number 378. On October 17, 2000, as part of nationwide political decentralization, Banten was separated from West Java and made into a new province.

Geography

West Java borders Jakarta and Banten province to the west, and Central Java to the east. To the north is Java Sea. To the south is the Indian Ocean. Unlike most other provinces in Indonesia which have their capitals in coastal area, the provincial capital Bandung is located in a mountainous area.

The province's landscape is one of volcanic mountains, steep terrain, forest, mountains rivers, fertile agricultural land, and natural sea harbours.

Demographics and language

According to the 2005 Socio-Economic Survey, West Java's population is 39,960,869, making it the most populous province in Indonesia. It has an area of 34,736 km²; aside from the province of Jakarta, it is the most densely populated province in the country with an average of 1,150 people per km².

In addition to Indonesian, the official national language, the other widely-spoken language in the province is Sundanese. In some areas near the southern borders with Central Java, Javanese is also spoken. The main language spoken in Cirebon and nearby areas (Majalengka, Indramayu, Sumber) is Cirebonese, a dialect of Javanese.Indonesian is widely spoken as a second language, except in some remote rural areas.

Culture

Sundanese share Java island with other Malayan people: Javanese people. They primarily live in their home province of West Java. Although Sundanese live in the same island with Javanese, they consider themselves a distinct cultural area called Sunda. Someone moving from West Java Province to Central or East Java Provinces, is literally said to be moving from Sunda to Java.

Taken from. www.wikipedia.com