Banyuwangi (town)

Summary

Banyuwangi, previously known as Banjoewangi, is the administrative capital of Banyuwangi Regency at the far eastern end of the island of Java, Indonesia. It had a population of 106,000 at the 2010 census[1] and 117,558 at the 2020 census.[2]

Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi Kota railway station
Banyuwangi Kota railway station
Banyuwangi is located in Banyuwangi Regency
Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi is located in Java
Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi (Java)
Banyuwangi is located in Indonesia
Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi (Indonesia)
Coordinates: 8°13′07″S 114°22′01″E / 8.2186°S 114.3669°E / -8.2186; 114.3669
CountryIndonesia
RegionJava
ProvinceEast Java
RegencyBanyuwangi Regency
Area
 • Total30.13 km2 (11.63 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)
 • Total117,558
 • Density3,900/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+7 (IWST)
Area code(+62) 333
Villages18

The town is also known as city of festival as many festivals are held throughout the year.[3] Banyuwangi Regency is a tourist destination, and additional developments have been proposed to encourage international tourism by building necessary infrastructures.[4]

Geography edit

Banyuwangi (the name meaning "Fragrant Water", after a mythical river) is built in the centre of the east coast of Java, with the backdrop of the Ijen Plateau to the west, and with fine views across the Bali Strait (Selat Bali) to the island of Bali lying to the east. The principal market area is along the Jalan Susuit Tuban, the street which links the town square (or alun-alun) with the sports stadium (Stadium Diponegoro) a half-kilometre to the southeast.

History edit

The city was the capital of the Kingdom of Blambangan, the sixteenth-century Hindu kingdom which ruled this eastern tip of Java. Although the rapidly expanding Muslim kingdom of Mataram attacked Blambangan during the early seventeenth century, it managed to survive as the last Hindu kingdom on the island, and it was mostly ignored by the Dutch until the eighteenth century, when they took it over.

Banyuwangi was where the undersea cable connected to Darwin, Australia, met the Australian Overland Telegraph Line in November 1871.[5]

Transportation edit

Banyuwangi International Airport at Blimbingsari serves the Regency (including Banyuwangi town) and the surrounding area in East Java.

References edit

  1. ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  2. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  3. ^ "Named best festival city, Banyuwangi to hold 99 tourism events throughout 2019". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Indonesia announces 10 new destination brands". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  5. ^ Martinez, Julia (2017). "Asian Servants for the Imperial Telegraph: Imagining North Australia as an Indian Ocean Colony before 1914". Australian Historical Studies. 48 (2): 227–243. doi:10.1080/1031461X.2017.1279196. S2CID 149205560.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Banyuwangi at Wikimedia Commons

8°13′07″S 114°22′01″E / 8.2186°S 114.3669°E / -8.2186; 114.3669