Bogor I’m in Love

Bogor  is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency, south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Bogor itself is a recognized as a municipality ; it is an important economic, scientific, cultural and tourist center, as well as a mountain resort.

In the Middle Ages, the city was the capital of Sunda Kingdom  and was called Pakuan Pajajaran. During the Dutch colonial era, it was named Buitenzorg and served as the summer residence of the Governor-General of Dutch East Indies. The city was the administrative center of the Netherlands East Indies during the brief British control in the early 19th century.

With several hundred thousand people living on an area of about, the central part of Bogor is one of the world's most densely populated areas. The city has a presidential palace and a botanical garden  – one of the oldest and largest in the world. It bears the nickname "the Rain City", because of frequent rain showers. It nearly always rains even during the dry season.

The city is situated in the western part of Java island, about 53 km south of the capital Jakarta and 85 km northwest of Bandung, the administrative center of West Java Province. The garden's 87-hectare area within the city was supplemented in 1866 by a 120-hectare park in suburban town of Cibodas. Much of the original rainforest was preserved within the garden providing specimens for scientific studes. Besides, the garden was enriched by collections of palms, bamboos, cacti, orchids and ornamental trees. It became famous in the late 19th century and was visited by naturalists from abroad to conduct scientific research. For example, the Russian St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences had a Buitenzorg scholarship for young scientists to work at Bogor. The staff of Bogor garden also administer three other major gardens of Iindonesia: the Cibodas Botanical Garden founded 1862 in West Java, the Purwodadi Botanical Garden in East Java and the Eka Karya Botanical Garden founded in 1959 on Bali island.

Another tourist attraction is the presidential palace with the total area of 28 hectares, including 1.8492 hectares of the palace buildings. The palace is surrounded by a park with a small pond. The park is home to a herd of tame deer and is open to the public most of the year. The palace is accessible during holidays, such as the City Day and Independence Day; it has a collection of 450 paintings and 360 sculptures.

The city and its suburbs contain dozens of medieval stone stelae . Fifteen prasasti of the greatest historical and cultural value are collected in a special pavilion in the district of Batutulis. In the western part of Bogor there is a large lake Gede  surrounded by the reserved forest area and a forest park. In the protected area there are several research facilities, and the recreation areas host sports activities, boating and fishing.

On the territory of the botanic garden, there is a cemetery established in 1784. It contains 42 historical graves of the Dutch colonial officials, military officers and scientists, who served in Bogor, Jakarta and other cities in West Java from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. Nearby, there are three graves of the early Sunda Kingdom : the wife of the founder of Bogor Silivangi, Galuh Mangku Alam, vizier Ba'ul and commander Japra. The locals regard these individuals as the city's patrons. Other historical places are the Bogor Cathedral – built in 1750, it is one of the oldest operational Catholic Churches in Indonesia, and the Buddhist temple Hok Tek Bio, built in 1672 in the classical South Chinese style. It is the first Buddhist temple of Bogor and one of the oldest in Indonesia.