From Outside The Palace Wall

Seeing what remained from such a grand palace,
Imagining what happened through centuries.
If only walls could talk.

Inner Sanctum, Lamp outside the gate,  detail of a facade 

Since February 17, 1745, King Susuhunan Pakubuwono II and his family had occupied the new palace or karaton located along the banks of Solo River, the longest river in Java. The former karaton in Kartosuro (10 km west of Solo) had been abandoned due to severe damages. It was not a proper karaton for the Susuhunan (king) anymore, after being ransacked on 1742 by the invaders. Pakubuwono II with all his family and subordinates made a day long royal procession from Kartosuro to Surakarta. The city of Surakarta could easily connected to east Java main coastal centers such as Gresik, Tuban via Bengawan (river) Solo.The name Pakubuwono itself means 'the center of the world' (paku : nail, buwono :world).

source: http://www.joglosemar.co.id/surakarta.html

The old traffic light on the back wall of the palace

The Royal Crest

Panggung Sangga Buwana, the mystical tower in the inner sanctum