Muntilan

Muntilan is a town in Central Java, on the old railway route to Magelang, and on the recent route of tourists on their way to Borobudur.

It is the main market town along the western slopes of Mount Merapi volcano in central Java, within the administrative ambit of the regional government in Magelang.

History

The adjacent country side has had many villages with pesantren and strong allegiance to the more stricter form of Islam compared to that of the country closer to the Kraton palaces of Surakarta and Yogyakarta.

The Jesuits have had a long presence in this town, having a school ^[1] seminary and a necropolis containing the remains of many of their earlier members.^[2]

During the Second World War Muntilan was the site of a Japanese prisoner of war camp which contained many Dutch families.

Current

The streetscape of Muntilan along Jalan Pemuda is one of the more classic streetscapes in Central Java. The shop-fronts, and the enclave of Chinese based businesses in the central area, provide clues as to the nature of commercial development in the town over the last century.

Notes

1. ^ SMA Pangudi Luhur Van Lith
2. ^ Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder being a more recent internee

Coordinates: 7°45′S 109°57′E / 7.75°S 109.95°E / -7.75; 109.95