The Water Palace and The Memory of The Great Karangasem Empire

Many Balinese people refer to The Great Water Palace as Taman Sukasada, but over time it has begun to be known as Taman Ujung Karangasem. The park is a beautiful place to find peace and relax in East Bali and an incredible place to catch a glimpse of the Lombok Straight, but behind this parks' simple beauty lies a past steeped in creativity, power and understanding.

As the name suggests, Taman Ujung is located in the Ujung countryside at Tumbu Village in Karangasem about five kilometers from the city of Amlapura. In the year 1909, The Great Water Palace located at Taman Ujung was created by a man named I Gusti Bagus Jelantik, he was not just any man, he was educated, he was a statesman, and he was an architect. I Gusti Bagus Jelantik was a man of two names and he was a man of title. Known as Anak Agung Angkurah Ketut Karangasem, I Gusti Bagus Jelantik was the King of this regency known as Karangasem.

At one stage, this park spread across four hundred hectares of land, but slowly that once large number has decreased to approximately ten hectares in size. It is thought that the design for the palace was the result of a vision, that I Gusti Bagus Jelantik dreamt of designing a beautiful house surrounded by water, and that once he had this idea, he set to work gathering together a collection of architects including a Chinese architect named Loto Ang and the Dutch architect Van Den Hentz, along with many other Balinese architects or Undagis to help him develop the concept of his vision.

Taman Ujung lies between the mountains and the sea. Mount Lempuyang is on the north-east side, Mount Agung is on the west side and the Lombok Strait is directly east. This is an important factor that is respected not only within Bali but also across the whole of Indonesia. From the main gate it is possible to see how the pools dominate the palace and how the bridges connect the palace to every side of the pool. This design concept surrounds the idea that our life on the land revolves around water and that it is because the land meets with the sea that the luxurious life that we lead on earth was created. Through the design of Taman Ujung and The Great Water Palace, I Gusti Bagus Jelantik has shown respect and understanding of this by realising this concept within the design of the four pools in Taman Ujung.

The empire is famous for respecting the creation of art and culture within the regency, which is reflected in both the sculptures that are carved around the building and each and every statue that surrounds the park. This artistic contribution remains an invaluable tribute to the history of Karangasem.

But there is more to the history of this park than just the architectural design of the Water Palace. Somewhere toward the north side of the park exists a pool that was considered very secret. It was known as Di Dirah and was utilised during the period of King I Gusti Gede Putu and his brother who was called I Gede Oka. The round pool functioned as a place of exile for a man who was alleged to run the world of Black Magic within the empire.

During the time before 1908, this Karangasem Regency was a territorial empire. During the 17th Century the Bali Kuna authority was granted permission by the Klungkung Empire to establish themselves in Karangasem, and thus the mighty Empire was born under the governance of I Dewa Karangamla. The Karangamla dynasty didn't survive all that long and the Batanjeruk Dynasty soon took over the Karangasem Empire's governance.

I Dewa Karangamla moved his chess board pieces forward, by taking the widow of Patih Agung Batanjeruk as his wife when her husband failed to pursue the journey that was necessary to be taken by a king of the Gelgel Empire called Dalem Waturenggong. I Dewa Karangamla made a promise to the widow of Patih Agung Batanjeruk that he would givie over his authority to his step child whose name was I Gusti Oka. When finally I Dewa Karangamla died, as promised, the authority over the empire moved back into the hands of the Batanjeruk Dynasty which was led by I Gusti Oka as its king.

This location was developed as if it were a summerhouse or recreation palace, for the royal family to spend time relaxing and enjoying themselves. However, the time eventually came for the park to be opened to the public as part of an agreement between the descendants of the Karangasem Kingdom, the government and the International Monetary Fund who loaned money to Indonesia to help with restoration and ongoing maintenance of Taman Ujung some ten or fifteen years ago. The property rights was never transferred and to this day, the park ownership continues to remain in the hands of the desandants of the Karangasem ruling family.

Although the concept of the Water Palace and recreation park had been finalised by the year 1921, the project was not completed in full until August 6th, 1937. The Great Water Palace was the first of several ventures of similar style undertaken by this talented king. Two such parks, known as Mayura and also Narmada park were built in West Lombok and have come to be a symbol of brotherhood, a historical connection between the regency of Karangasem and the area of Western Lombok where the two parks were developed.

If you are looking for an interesting destination to explore when travelling through East Bali, then Taman Ujung is an incredible place to discover. It is a park steeped in history, a place where you can wander around and find peace within yourself, and it is a place where you can stare in awe at the creative inspiration that was the vision of the great king of Karangasem.