Yogyakarta Palace Damaged

Yogyakarta Palace, which serves as a bridge between modernity and tradition in the ancient city, was not spared when the earth unleashed its fury Saturday morning.

The earthquake caused the palace's Bangsal Trajumas pavilion to collapse on a sacred set of gamelan instruments. The pavilion is a popular tourist attraction that pays tribute to the royal family, whose line can be traced back to the Mataram era in the 16th century.

Since the 1970s, the pavilion has been used to store the palace's sacred treasures.

On Sunday, the collapsed pavilion was left as it was, with abdi dalem (royal servants) only surveying the scene.

"Sultan Hamengkubuwono X has not yet arrived to see this tragedy," two of the palace's security officials, Harjimah and Kartini, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The sultan, who is also Yogyakarta governor, was in Surabaya when the disaster struck and is on his way home.

Antara reported the quake also damaged the sultan's private home, but did not offer details.

Twelve other buildings in the palace compound were damaged in the early morning quake. Several windows in Hamengkubuwono X Museum broke, and other buildings suffered cracked walls and other damage.

"The palace is closed to tourists until Tuesday. Journalists are only allowed to take pictures of the damaged Bangsal Trajumas, but not other damaged parts of the palace. That has to wait for the sultan's permission," Kartini said.

The sultan's brothers, including Prince Joyo Kusumo, have inspected the compound.

A palace employee, Wahono, said there had been other large earthquakes in the past, such as one in 1867 which destroyed Tugu Yogyakarta monument and damaged parts of the palace and Taman Sari garden. Source