BOROBUDUR

Last week I was visiting Borobudur temple. It was a great temple and one of the
biggest Buddhist temples in the world. I had been there for several times and I still love to go
there again and again. I know a little bit about the history of the restoration of the Borobudur
Temple.

Borobudur temple was built in 9th-century in (now) Magelang city, Central Java,
Indonesia. That temple was built during the reign of Sailendra Dynasty as the symbolic
monument retelling the life of Buddha in which people can learn about Buddhist religion.
The temple was design in Javanese Buddhist architecture as the acculturation of Indian and
Javanese culture.

Some evidences and theories suggest that Borobudur temple was disappeared during
the reign of Hindu kingdoms and Islam in java in 14th-century and the years after it. It was
disappeared because of the eruption of Merapi Mountain that buried most of the surrounding
area including Borobudur. But because of that eruption then the temple was survived and
untouchable until in 1814 during the British colonialization, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
(the British ruler of Java at that time) got information that there was a hill with carved
texture. After that Thomas Stamford Raffles made a project to dig and clear that area and
after 2 mounts working the Borobudur temple was appeared. But of course at that time the
face of Borobudur was extremely different from it appearance today.

Since it was found the British government restored that temple and continued by the
Dutch government. The largest restoration was undertaken by Indonesian government and
UNESCO between 1975 until 1982. Since that now we can enjoy and learn about the beauty
of the Borobudur Temple.

SUMMARY
Borobudur temple was built in 9th-century in (now) Magelang city, Central Java,
Indonesia. That temple was built during the reign of Sailendra Dynasty as the symbolic
monument retelling the life of Buddha in which people can learn about Buddhist religion.
The temple was design in Javanese Buddhist architecture as the acculturation of Indian and
Javanese culture.
 Some evidences and theories suggest that Borobudur temple was disappeared during
the reign of Hindu kingdoms and Islam in java in 14th-century and the years after it. It was
disappeared because of the eruption of Merapi Mountain that buried most of the surrounding
area including Borobudur. But because of that eruption then the temple was survived and
untouchable until in 1814 during the British colonialization, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
(the British ruler of Java at that time) got information that there was a hill with carved
texture. After that Thomas Stamford Raffles made a project to dig and clear that area and
after 2 mounts working the Borobudur temple was appeared.

Since it was found the British government restored that temple and continued by the
Dutch government. The largest restoration was undertaken by Indonesian government and
UNESCO between 1975 until 1982.

Candi Borobudur di bangun pada abad ke 9 di daerah (pada saat ini bernama)
Magelang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia. Candi tersebut di bangun pada masa kejayaan dinasti
Sailendra sebagai monumen simbolik yang menceritakan kisah perjalanan hidup sang Buddha
sekaligus sebagai monumen agar orang bisa mempelajari tentang Buddha. Candi tersebut di
bangun dengan desain arsitek Buddha ala Jawa sebagai akulturasi dari budaya India dan
Jawa.

Beberapa bukti sejarah dan teori menyatakan bahwa candi Borobudur sempat
menghilang semasa kekuasaan kerajaan Hindu dan Islam pada abad ke 14 dan setelahnya.
Candi tersebut menghilang karena tertimbun material letusan gunung Merapi yang juga telah
mengubur beberapa wilayah di sekitarnya. Namun justru karena tertimbun material tersebut,
candi Borobudur bisa selamat dan tak tersentuh seorang manusiapun hingga pada tahun 1814
di bawah pemerintahan Inggris, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (Pimpinan Inggris di Jawa)
mendapatkan informasi bahwa telah diketemukan sebuah bukit dengan tekstur ukir-ukiran.
Setelah mendapatkan informasi tersebut, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles membuat proyek
untuk membersihkan area tersebut dan selama dua bulan proyek tersebut berjalan, candi
Borobudur menampakkan wajahnya.

Setelah candi tersebut di temukan, pemerintah inggris mulai memugar candi tersebut
dan dilanjutkan oleh pemerintahan Belanda. Pemugaran besar-besaran dilakukan oleh
pemerintahan Indonesia dan UNESCO pada tahun 1975-1982.