The cooled-air of Presidential Palace: Tampaksiring, Bali

Tampaksiring presidential palace located on the hills in Tampaksiring Village, Tampaksiring Sub District, Wisma Merdeka Gianyar Regency, Bali. The palace is the one and only palace constructed at the time when the Indonesian Government rules at 1957 untill 1960. Initiated by the first President of Republic of Indonesia, Ir. Soekarno, the palace was built by a hundred percent Indonesian architects, R.M. Soedarsono, and constructors.

    

Tampaksiring palace is supported by four main buildings. Three of them are in the form of guesthouse, consisting of Wisma Merdeka ,200 m²), Wisma Bima (2,000 m²) and Wisma Yudhistira. Another is versatile building. Main part of Wisma Negara is the same as Wisma Merdeka; they were built on hilly land and both hills sustaining the two guesthouses are separated by a deep hill gap (approximately 15 meters). Both guesthouses are connected by a bridge of 40 meters long by 1.5 meters wide.

    

The palace was used as a resting place by president and vice president with the family as well as for state’s guests. Among various state guests recorded to have visited tha palace were President Ne Win from Burma (presently Myanmar), President Tito from Yugoslavia, President Ho Chi Minh from Vietnam, Prime Minister Nehru from India, Prime Minister Khruschev from the Uni Soviet, Queen Juliana from the Netherlands and Emperor Hirohito from Japan.

The name, Tampaksiring, is taken from two Balinese words, “Tampak” means sole of foot and “siring” means slanting. According to a legend recorded on Usana Bali lontar leaf (lontar leaf was used as paper in ancient time), the name was originally rooted from the trace of feet of a king named Mayadenawa. The forest roamed through by King Mayadewa by walking with slanting feet is the area now called Tampaksiring (slanting sole). This place is a heritage monument will be very valuable; it is because his background, and also this place is used as a resting place away from the cool weather of the city, and as a stopover palace State leaders who were stopped in Bali.