!!!Prambanan Temple Compounds

by Sergey Shandin and
Stas Sedov,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

31 March 2016

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

The medieval period is a remarkable part of the history, which had
considerably changed the life of the humankind. That was the time when
the first printing press and firearms appeared, the first professional
education and elective bodies, such as parliament, were initiated. The
period of Renaissance, which occurred at the very end of the Middle Ages
brought the art to life after a long depression.

[{Image src='01_Prambanan, Indonesia.jpg' caption='Prambanan, Indonesia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

Surprisingly, the Middle Ages have its own unique features not only in
Europe, but in Asia, as well. One of these features is the astonishing
architecture. Practically all the temples and castles that had remained
till nowadays are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Conic
constructions decorated with thousands of bas-reliefs and numerous
statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities, can serve as a guide on history,
a religious book and a cultural manual for this region.

[{Image src='02_Prambanan, Indonesia.jpg' caption='Prambanan, Indonesia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='549'}]

One of the most outstanding monuments built long back ago and located on
Java Island, Indonesia, is the Prambanan Hindu Temple Complex. The
construction was carried out within the 8th and 9th centuries. At that
period around two hundred temples were built. But most of them are in
ruins now: they were destroyed by earthquakes and volcano eruptions. In
the first half of the 20th century some of them were restored, and now
the most popular part of the complex consists of mighty huge
constructions that can be seen from a great distance. They are called in
the same way as the complex itself — the "Prambanan Temple", or it is
also known as "Lara Jonggrang", which means "Slender Maiden".

[{Image src='03_Prambanan, Indonesia.jpg' caption='Prambanan, Indonesia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='460'}]

According to the legend, the reason for creation of the Prambanan Temple
was an unrequited love. Prince Bandung Bondowoso proposed marriage to a
beautiful girl named Jonggrang. She was unwilling to marry him, but at
the same time, she didn't refuse straight away. Thus she cheated and
agreed on an impossible condition: the prince must build a temple with
one thousand statues in only one night. But when the task was almost
fulfilled, Jonggrang thwarted his efforts by making bonfires with the
help of local people, so the prince was fooled into thinking that the
sun is about to rise. Bondowoso, who had finished 999 statues by the
moment, grew furiously angry at this deception and placed a curse on
Jonggrang which turned her into the final thousandth stone statue —
"Slender Maiden", which now is situated in the northern side of the
Shiva temple.

[{Image src='04_Prambanan, Indonesia.jpg' caption='Prambanan, Indonesia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='483'}]

Prambanan is the largest temple site in Indonesia dedicated to the main
Hindu deities: Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Three temples rising above the
centre of the three concentric platforms are adorned with bas-reliefs
telling the story of Hindu epic — Ramayana. Not far away there are the
temples dedicated to animal deities — bull Nandi, bird-like creature
Garuda — the riding bird of Vishnu and a national symbol of Indonesia.

[{Image src='05_Prambanan, Indonesia.jpg' caption='Prambanan, Indonesia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='642'}]

The neighbouring architectural ensemble Sewu is located 800 meters north
of Prambanan. It consists of a central temple and several smaller
temples surrounding it. Although this complex is ruined, the common
architectural style is easily recognizable and suits the temple of
Prambanan.

Archaeologists are still involved in researches on the territory of
Prambanan, and sometimes new discoveries are reported. We invite you to
have a proper look at this majestic complex from above.

\\ \\
[7 Panoramas of Prambanan Temple Compounds|Geography/Asia/Indonesia/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Prambanan_Temple_Compounds]










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