Every city has their own symbolic landmark. Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Jakarta has Monas, Kuala Lumpur has Petronas Tower and Jogjakarta has Tugu. It is not just a city statue, but Tugu symbolises sacred lineage connecting Merapi Mountain, Ngayogyakarta Royal Palace and Parangtritis Beach. It is believed that the Sultan uses Tugu as a compass when he meditates in the Palace.
Tugu is also known to the local people as Pal Putih, Pal is a Javanese word which means 'statue' and Putih means 'white colour'. It is an elliptical shape with a round dome and pointed top and was built by Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. It stands in the main street in Yogyakarta in the middle of the junction of Mangkubumi Street, Diponegoro Street and Monjali Street. People can imagine a linear connection between North and South Yogyakarta from where it is situated and from the yard of the Sultan's Palace, Tugu shows the direction of north.
Sultan Hamengkubuwono I built Tugu after the Giyanti Agreement in 1755, and it stood at 25 metres high as a symbol of togetherness between the Sultan and people who were against Hindia Colonial Government. The Giyanti Agreement also divided Islamic Mataram Palace into two Royal Palaces; Paku Buwana in Surakarta and Mangkubumi in Yogyakarta. The division of the two Royal Palaces made people under Mangkubumi dislike the Hindia Colonial Government. The Hindia Colonial Government were aware of this, and after the big earthquake on 10 June 1867, they decided to reconstruct Tugu at only 15 metres high. The Tugu statue that can be seen today comes from colonial policy in the past.
In the evenings Tugu is lit up by soft lighting making it a beautiful central point and many people visit the iconic statue to take photographs there together.
