The Royal Ubud Palace

     Ubud Palace, officially Puri Saren Agung, is a complex of historic buildings located in Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Indonesia. The palace is the official residence of the royal family of Ubud.

Ubud Palace, officially Puri Saren Agung, is a complex of historic buildings located in Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Indonesia. The palace is the official residence of the royal family of Ubud.

The History Of Ubud Palace.

     On his journey, Rsi Markaneya received a divine revelation that in Bali, he would bury five precious metals on the slope of the mountain where the Besakih main temple stands now. Together with a group of followers, Rsi Markaneya is magnetically attracted to a destination located in the middle foothill of the island which radiates light and energy. This place is Campuhan at the crossing on the Wos River in Ubud and this is where he felt compelled to build a temple called Pura Gunung Lebah. On the next expedition around Bali, Rsi Markaneya built several other important temples and created a joint irrigation system in terraced landscapes that are still practised by farmers to this day. The formation of the Banjar, which is the village council responsible for community and religious affairs, was also inspired by this saint. Basically, it can be said that Rsi Markaneya is responsible for the basis of Balinese Hinduism in the purest form called the Religion of Tirta or the religion of holy water.

     Since its discovery in the 8th century, the Campuhan region has always been highly respected by the Balinese for its extraordinary spiritual strength. Even the term Ubud comes from the term Ubud, which means medicine that refers to the traditional healing properties of various plants that grow randomly here. Generations of Hindu worshipers have made special pilgrimages to the branches of the Wos River to mediate, bathe, and collect holy water for temple ceremonies and cleansing rituals.

There was always a bond between Java and Bali, but it was disintegrated when the once-powerful Majapahit kingdom in the 15th century carried out a mass exodus of nobles to Bali. A new kingdom on the east coast of the island called the Gelgel Kingdom was consequently established and provided protection for many important ruling families. They carry an artistic inheritance and the principles of the caste system.

     In the 17th century, Bali always experienced the rapid emergence of new empires, including the establishment of several royal houses in Ubud. However, this period also saw many conflicts between royal clans and supremacy as the ultimate goal. A prince from Klungkung was sent to make the palace in Sukawati a centre of great power and aesthetic beauty. Craftsmen come from all over Bali to help in the construction and after finishing many of them choose to stay. Today, Sukawati is a community place that strongly supports all forms of art and dance and music.

With the successful establishment of the ruling authority in Sukawati, palace followers were then sent in the late 1700s to secure the Ubud area. The king's cousins formed a rival community in Padang Tegal and farther north in the Park area. Following the ensuing battle between neighbouring villages, Raja Sukawati sent his brothers, Tjokorde Ngurah Tabanan to Peliatan and Tjokorde Tangkeban to Sambah to build palaces with the idea of controlling these troubled areas.

     Despite the beginning of the feudalistic struggle between the kingdoms of Peliatan and Mengwi, the two overcame their differences after the battle which was said to involve magical power. After that, the Mengwi people moved to help inhabit Ubud and during the 1800s the whole area began to develop with an abundant supply of rice and a rapidly developing economy. In the mid-19th century, there were anti-Dutch sentiments that arose in the kingdom and conflicts were rife. Mengwi suffered a bitter defeat and all the land was distributed among the attackers. Some of the battles that took place were actually triggered by the Dutch and when it was unusual to see the opposing kingdom suddenly formed an alliance. The colonizing Dutch government chose to disrupt the island's politics in the early 20th century. Under the leadership of Tjokorde Gede Raka Sukawati, Ubud became known as a sub-district and then in 1981 became a sub-district that took over administration of 13 neighbourhoods and 7 traditional villages. Ubud Regency currently covers all areas within the boundaries of Tegallalang, Peliatan, Mas and Kedewatan.

     Bali was a silent witness of a significant wave of foreign visitors during the 1930s. The first wave of tourism is focused around Ubud because of the business confidence of Tjokorde Gede Agung Sukawati, who is proficient in English and Dutch. He has set up a small guest house and his brother Tjokorde Raka Sukawati, who lives across the street, takes the initiative to welcome composer famous artist Walter Spies to Ubud to live and work.

     This became a trend for other foreign artists and soon people like Rudolf Bonnet and Willem Hofker arrived to present modern painting. When word of Ubud and its enchanting beauty spread, the village then hosted a circle of famous faces such as Noël Coward, Charlie Chaplin, H.G Wells and famous anthropologist Margaret Mead. The vision to establish a painter association was born in 1936 and saw collaboration to form Pita Maha between Tjokorde Gede Agung, Spies, Bonnet, and several local artists. With the help of American composer Colin McPhee, who has built houses along the magnificent Sayan Ridge, the group is responsible for bringing together some of Bali's greatest artists to teach painting, dancing and music to a younger generation. Ubud developed a reputation as the pulse of Balinese culture and that image still survives today. World War II brought difficulties for the islands of Bali and Ubud to suffer greatly. Japan invaded and was then followed by the hard struggle of the Balinese people against the Dutch for independence. Indonesians gained their freedom and first president in 1945, but about 20 years later the so-called 'communist coup' saw thousands of killings throughout the archipelago. Many lives were stolen, especially in Ubud and it is local folklore that the white herons inhabiting the Petulu area are actually the souls of those lost from the slaughtered. After nearly 20 years of uncertainty, tourism returned to Ubud during the 1970s when backpackers and hippies set out to find new experiences. The steady flow of visitors has since found themselves captivated by the intense beauty of the scenery and the friendliness of its people. Ubud has succeeded in embracing the 21st century with dignity and still maintaining the timeless art, culture and religion. This is an important destination that is blessed with a strong sense of community and rare spiritual energy.

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