The City
Brought from Kartasura by Pakubuwono II in one huge day-long procession in 1745, the Kasunanan Palace (daily except Fri 9am-2pm; Rp2500) is Solo's largest and most important royal house. It stands within the kraton, just south of the alun-alun; guides are available free of charge and are definitely worth taking. Non-royals must enter the main body of the palace by the eastern entrance. This opens out into a large courtyard whose surrounding buildings house the palace's kris collection , as well as a number of chariots, silver ornaments and other royal knick-knacks. An archway to the west leads into the susuhunan's living quarters; the current sultan, the septuagenarian Pakubuwono XII, is still in residence, along with a few of his 35 children and two of his six wives. Many of the buildings in this courtyard are modern copies, the originals having burnt down in 1985. The second royal house in Solo, the Puro Mangkunegoro (guided tours only Mon-Thurs 8.30am-2pm, Sun 8.30am-1pm; Rp5000) stands 1km west of the kraton and, like Yogya's court of Paku Alam, faces south towards the Kasunanan Palace as a mark of respect. With its fine collection of antiques and curios, in many ways the Puro Mangkunegoro is more interesting than the Kasunanan palace. It was built in 1757 to placate the rebellious Prince Mas Said (Mangkunegoro I), a nephew of Pakubuwono II, whose relations with Mangkubumi deteriorated after the latter founded Yogya and was recognized as its sultan. Exhausted by fighting wars on three fronts, Mas Said eventually accepted a peace deal which gave him a royal title, a court in Solo and rulership over four thousand of Solo's households. The palace hides behind a high white wall, entered through the gateway to the south. The vast pendopo (the largest in Indonesia) which fronts the palace, shields four gamelan orchestras underneath its rafters, three of which can only be played on very special occasions. Be sure to look up at the vibrantly painted roof of the pendopo, with Javanese zodiac figures forming the main centrepiece. A portrait of the current resident, Mangkunegoro IX, hangs by the entrance to the Dalam Agung , or living quarters, whose reception room has been turned into an extremely good museum, displaying ancient coins, ballet masks and chastity preservers. Just south of Puro Mangkunegoro, the three-storey Pasar Klewer (daily 9am-4pm), by the southwest corner of the alun-alun, claims to being Java's largest batik market , and designs from all over Java can be found here. Another kilometre west along Jalan Riyadi brings you to the Radya Pustaka Museum (Mon-Thurs & Sun 8am-1pm, Fri & Sat 8-11am; Rp500). Built by the Dutch in 1890, this is one of the oldest and largest museums in Java, housing a large Dutch and Javanese library as well as collections of wayang kulit puppets, kris, and scale models of the mosque at Demak and the cemetery at Imogiri. Another 500m further west, at Jl Dr Cipto 15, the paintings and sculptures by the prolific artist Pak Dullah are on show in the Dullah Museum (currently closed for restoration).
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