A History of Prawirotaman: Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Jalan Prawirotoman in Yogyakarta, Central Java, is one of the many streets backpackers head to upon their arrival in the city. The Kampong of Prawirotoman is steeped in history and many of the old buildings can still be seen today.

The story of the kampong began in the 19th century after the then Yogyakarta sultan granted a palace official a vast tract of land which was later named Kampong Prawirotaman. The kampung was named after Prawirotomo, a unit of soldiers led by the palace official.

The official had three sons - the late Werdoyoprawiro, Suroprawiro, and Mangunprawiro - who all pursued the batik business. As the tourist industry grew quickly in the late 1960s the brothers abandoned the batik business and put their money into hotels.

Since then the sons of the three brothers have run over 60 percent of the total hotels in the Prawirotaman tourist complex. At least 17 of some 30 hotels in Prawirotaman belong to children of the three brothers. The oldest hotel in the complex, Airlangga Guest House, is owned by Werdoyoprawiro's son, Sugiyanto. Six other hotels in the area belong to Werdoyoprawiro's other sons and daughters namely Wisma Gajah, Rose Guest House, Kirana Guest House, Galunggung Guest House and Agung Guest House.

The sons and daughters of Suroprawiro meanwhile own seven other hotels. They are Prambanan Guest House, Sumaryo Guest House, Duta Guest House, Didi Hotel, Metro Guest House, and Palupi Guest House.

Three hotels - Prayogo Guest House, Parikesit Guest House and Perwitasari Guest House - are owned by Mangunprawiro's children although they also run several other hotels outside the complex. "My father was the first to build a hotel in Prawirotaman. He worked for a travel agency and then built the hotel in the kampong. He was in the tourist industry even when my grandfather was still running a batik factory" said Sugiyanto's son, Wisnu Santoso who has helped his mother run Airlangga Guest House since the death of his father in 1997.

In the 1960s Prawirotaman was one of few batik producing centers in Yogyakarta as well as its neighbouring kampong, Tirtodipuran. Until the 1970s business was good for many batik producers in Prawirotaman.

The 1980s and 1990s was a glorious era for the former batik producers who had sifted their business interests to the tourist industry. The economic crisis which hit the country in 1997 was the beginning of the decline in the country's tourist industry which has also affected Prawirotaman.

After almost 10 years of a slump in the business, will those former batik producers shift back to batik just as their fathers shifted from batik to the hotel business?

"In the last few years my mother has run an antique furniture shop" said Wisnu, adding that the family will decide in July whether they will continue with the hotel business.