Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta – The Most Complete Information You Should Know

Sonobudoyo Museum in Yogyakarta – For history lovers, it is really mandatory to visit the most complete museum in Yogyakarta, namely the Sonobudoyo Museum. The collections at the Sonobudoyo Museum are mostly grants from the Java Institute which show culture on the islands of Java, Madura, Bali and Lombok.

Sonobudoyo Museum is very suitable to visit with family and children because apart from being on holiday, it can also increase knowledge and introduce history to children. Are you curious about what’s inside the most complete museum in Yogyakarta after the National Museum in Jakarta? Below is a brief review of the Sonobudoyo Museum.

History of Sonobudoyo Museum

The Sonobudoyo Museum was founded in 1935. Initially, a congress was held consisting of members of the Java Institute and also foreigners in Surakarta in 1924, then decided to establish a museum in Yogyakarta. The land on which this museum was founded was a gift from Sultan Hamengkubuwono VIII, which was former Schouten land.

This museum was also inaugurated by Sultan Hamengkubuwono VIII on Wednesday Wage 9 Ruwah in 1866, Javanese calendar. Its inauguration was marked by Candra Sengkala, Kayu Winayang Ing Brahmana Buddha or on November 6 1935 AD. The date of the inauguration is engraved on the wall of the gate of the Sonobudoyo Museum.

Attraction of Sonobudoyo Museum

The Sonobudoyo Museum has an attraction in the form of a joglo-shaped building with architecture inspired by the Kasepuhan Palace Mosque in Cirebon.

This museum was constructed by Ir. Thomas Karsten with very classic decorations and cultural history value.

This most complete museum has various collections, numbering up to 10 collections, including philology, numismatics and heraldry, fine arts, ceramics, technology, geology, archeology and ethnography.

Interestingly, you can also watch virtual wayang performances here.

Room in Sonobudoyo Museum

The Sonobudoyo Museum is very large and is divided into several rooms to show the collections it has as follows.

1. Introduction room, in this room visitors can see the Slendro Pelog gamelan called Kyai and Nyai Riris Manis which was a gift from Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono VI.
2. In the exhibition collection room, visitors will see the Pasren Krobongan which is usually placed in a corner of the house called the middle senthong. This pasren consists of a bed, pillows, bolsters, mattress, mosquito net and also a pair of loro blonyo statues and a pair of jlupak and robyong lamps.
3. The prehistoric room provides various collections of prehistoric humans including distribution maps as well as skeletons and tools used at that time.
4. The classical and Islamic room, the room presents collections which are divided into 7 elements including universal culture, society, language, religion, art, science, equipment and livelihood.
5. Batik room, in this room visitors will see various kinds of batik such as sidomukti and sidoluhur batik motifs along with explanations of their meanings. Visitors can also see traditional equipment used for batik making.
6. In the puppet room, visitors can see various types of puppets depicting various stories ranging from the stories of the Guardians, mouse deer, Wahyu puppets from the Bible, the Mahabharata to the Ramayana.
7. The Mask Room which presents various types of Yogyakarta, Balinese, Cirebon masks as well as the Panji Mahabharata story and dances from each region.
8. The Central Java Room, displays various famous wooden carvings in Central Java from Jepara in the form of a joglo house and a replica of the palanquin of the Yogyakarta palace.
9. The weapons collection room displays various keris ranging from Javanese to Balinese keris. There are also wedhung, kudi, sickles, and spears. There are even replicas of old guns and cannons.
10. The toy room shows children’s toys from the past such as othok-othok, tops and dakon which are no longer played with.
11. The Balinese room shows various Balinese cultures, from religious ceremonial equipment, statues of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. There is also painting and sculpture on display.
12. In the library room, visitors can enjoy and view a collection of ancient Javanese manuscripts and Dutch manuscripts.
13. The auditorium with a capacity of 75 people on the second floor and 100 people on the 3rd floor is often used for meetings, training and seminars.

Sonobudoyo Museum location

The Sonobudoyo Museum itself is very strategically located because it is near the city center of Yogyakarta, precisely on Jl. Trikora/Pangurakan No. 6 Yogyakarta 55122. o

Sonobudoyo Museum facilities

The manager of the Sonobudoyo Museum cultural tourist attraction offers a variety of very complete facilities and services such as a library, souvenir center, toilets, parking area, laboratory room, auditorium, manuscripts, and even tour guides which will explain all the history of the objects in this museum’s collections clearly and in detail.

Entrance Ticket Prices and Opening Hours for Sonobudoyo Museum

The Sonobudoyo Museum entrance ticket price for adults is around IDR 10,000. Entrance tickets for children are around IDR 5,000. But foreign tourists will be charged an entrance fee of around IDR 20,000.

The Sonobudoyo Museum opens from 08.00 to 16.00 WIB.