Kendal Regency


Kendal is a regency in the northern part of Central Java province in Indonesia, west of Semarang. The regency is bordered by the Java Sea in the north, Semarang City and Semarang Regency in the east, Temanggung Regency in the south, and Batang Regency in the west. Kendal Regency was established on 28 July, 1605. Its administrative capital is the town of Kendal, which is also known as the City of Santri because there are thousands of Ponpes, especially in Kaliwungu District and it is also known as the City of Arts and Culture. The regency covers an area of 1,002.23 km2 and had a population of 900,313 at the 2010 census and 1,018,505 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,064,812, consisting of 536,543 males and 528,269 females.
WWW Official Site

History

The name Kendal was taken from the name of a tree, the Kendal Tree. No one at first knew its name, but when Pakuwojo hid in the tree, it was brightly lit. Finally the tree was called the Qondhali tree, which means lighting, and the area where the tree was, was called Qondhali because Javanese were not fluent in Arabic and later became Kendal. The lush leafy tree has been known since the time of the Demak Kingdom in 1500-1546 AD, during the reign of Sultan Trenggono. At the beginning of his reign in 1521, Sultan Trenggono once ruled Sunan Katong to order heirlooms to Pakuwojo. The events that caused the conflict and resulted in the death were recorded in the Inscription. Even now, the tomb of the two figures in Kendal's history in Protomulyo Village, Kaliwungu District, is still widely sacred to the community. According to the story, Sunan Katong was stunned by the beauty and longing of Kendal trees that grew in the surrounding environment. While enjoying the view of the Kendal tree that looks "sari", he mentioned that in the area later it would be called "Kendalsari". The big tree that the people mentioned was located on the edge of Kendal Youth Street was also known as Kendal Growing because the stem was hollow or growing.
A young man named Joko Bahu, a court servant of the Mataram kingdom, was someone who loved others and a hard worker until Joko Bahu succeeded in advancing his area. For this success, Sultan Agung Adi Prabu Hanyokrokusumo finally appointed him as the Kendal Regent, entitled Tumenggung Bahurekso. In addition Tumenggung Bahurekso was also appointed as Commander of the Mataram War on August 26, 1628, to lead tens of thousands of soldiers to invade the VOC in Batavia. In the battle on 21 October, 1628 in Batavia, Tumenggung Bahurekso and his two sons died as Kusuma Bangsa. From the journey of Sang Tumenggung Bahurekso led the VOC attack in Batavia on August 26, 1628, which was then used as a benchmark for the history of the birth of Kendal Regency. Further development with the momentum of the death of Tumenggung Bahurekso as the determination of the anniversary was considered by some to be inappropriate. Because the momentum was a dark history for a character named Bahurekso, it was feared to bring psychological effects. The emergence of the term "fail and fall" in Javanese mythology was feared to form psychological biases that influence the behavior of the pattern of taste, creativity and intentions of the people of Kendal Regency, so that it felt
Kaliwungu triumphed as the centre of government at the inception of Kendal Regency. However, due to the political conditions in the center of Mataram at that time and the consideration of the development of the government, the centre of government was moved to Kendal District. So that finally Kaliwungu is only used for the residence of the father of the Regent, who is often referred to as Kuhan, whereas the government administration is in Kendal District.
During the New Order era, the regency was the site of the Plantungan concentration camp, where former Communist Party and Gerwani members were imprisoned from 1971 to 1979.

Government

Administrative districts

Kendal Regency consists of twenty administrative districts, tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2024. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district, and its post code.
Kode
Wilayah		Name of
District
Area
in
km2		Pop'n
census
2010		Pop'n
census
2020		Pop'n
estimate
mid 2024		Admin
centre		No.
of
villages		Post
code
33.24.01Plantungan48.8228,82632,58634,049Tirtomulyo1251362
33.24.03Sukorejo76.0157,08060,39961,517Sukorejo1851363
33.24.02Pageruyung51.4331,48735,67137,304Pageruyung1451361
33.24.04Patean92.9446,89252,10554,083Curugsewu1451364
33.24.05Singorojo119.3246,75752,85455,226Ngareanak1351382
33.24.06Limbangan71.7230,72234,93736,163Limbangan1651383
33.24.07Boja64.0969,41782,44386,418Boja1851381
Sub-totalsSouth
area		524.33311,181351,995364,760105
33.24.08Kaliwungu47.7358,51466,15768,363Sarirejo951372
33.24.20Kaliwungu Selatan
65.1944,49554,25151,795Magelung851372
-51382
Sub-totalsNorth-east
area		112.92103,009120,408120,15817
33.24.09Brangsong34.5444,66250,61152,333Brangsong1251371
33.24.10Pegandon31.1233,41837,95439,271Tegorejo1251358
33.24.19Ngampel33.8831,10035,85537,261Ngampel Wetan1251357
33.24.11Gemuh38.1745,36052,40954,498Gemuh Blanten1651356
33.24.18Ringinarum23.5031,86636,62038,020Ringinarum1251359
33.24.12Weleri30.2855,77059,88560,962Penyangkringan1651355
33.24.16Rowosari32.6446,15153,56655,775Rowosari1651319
33.24.17Kangkung38.9842,14349,88352,237Kangkung1551353
33.24.13Cepiring30.0846,93252,65454,288Karangayu1551352
33.24.14Patebon44.3054,61260,08561,599Jambearum1851351
33.24.15Kendal 27.4954,10959,83261,429Karangsari20 51311
- 51319
Sub-totalsNorth
area		364.98486,123546,102567,912164
Totals1,002.23900,3131,018,5051,064,812Kendal286

Note: except one desa for which the post code is 51354. comprising the 20 kelurahan of Balok, Bandengan, Banyutowo, Bugangin, Candiroto, Jetis, Jotang, Kalibuntu Wetan, Karang Sari, Kebondalem, Ketapang, Langenharjo, Ngilir, Pakauman, Patukangan, Pegulon, Sijeruk, Sukodono, Trompo and Tunggulrejo.
Kendal town is the administrative headquarters. Besides Kendal, other significant district centres are Kaliwungu, Boja and Weleri. Kendal Regency has a coastline with a length of 41.0 kilometres.
In general, the Kendal Regency region is divided into two distinct areas, namely lowland areas in the north and highland areas in the south. The northern region of Kendal Regency is a low-lying area with an altitude between 0–10 metres above sea level, which includes the districts of Weleri, Rowosari, Kangkung, Cepiring, Gemuh, Ringinarum, Pegandon, Ngampel, Patebon, Kendal, Brangsong, and Kaliwungu. The southern part of Kendal Regency is a highland area consisting of mountainous land with an altitude between 10 and 2,579 metres above sea level, covering the districts of Plantungan, Pageruyung, Sukorejo, Patean, Boja, Singorojo, Limbangan and Kaliwungu Selatan.

List of Regents

Tumenggung Bahurekso1605-1629
Raden Ngabehi Wiroseco1629-1641
Raden Ngabehi Mertoyudo1641-1649
Raden Ngabehi Wongsodiprojo1649-1650
Raden Ngabehi Wongsowiroprojo1650-1661
Raden Ngabehi Wongsowirosroyo1661-1663
Tumenggung Singowijoyo1663-1668
Tumenggung Mertowijoyo 11668-1700
Tumenggung Mertowijoyo 21700-1725
Tumenggung Mertowijoyo 31725-1739
Tumenggung Singowijoyo 21739-1754
Tumenggung Soemonegoro 11755-1780
Tumenggung Soemonegoro 21780-1785
Tumenggung Soerohadinegoro 11785-1796
Pangeran Ario Prawirodiningrat 11796-1813
Pangeran Ario Prawirodiningrat 21813-1830
Raden Tumenggung Purbodiningrat1830-1850
Kyai Tumenggung Purbodiningrat1850-1855
Pangeran Ario Notohamiprojo1857-1891
Raden Mas Kamal Notonegoro1891-1911
Patih Raden cokro Hadisastro1911-1914
Raden Mas Adipati Notohamijoyo1914-1938
Raden Patih Notomudigdo1938
Raden Mas Saddin Purbonegoro1938-1942
Patih Raden Mas Kusuma Hudoyo1942-1945
Soekarmo1945-1949
Raden Ruslan1949
Raden Prayitno Partodijoyo1950-1956
Raden Sujono1957-1960
Raden Salatun1960-1966
Mayor Sunardi1966-1967
Letkol Suryo Suseno1967-1972
Abdus Saleh Ronowijoyo1972-1979
Drs. Herman Sumarmo1979-1984
Sudono Yusuf BA1984-1989
Sumoyo Hadiwinoto1989-1998
Drs. Djumadi1999-2000
Hendy Boedoro2000-2008
Dra. Siti Nurmarkesi2008-2010
Hj. Widya Kandi Susanti2010-2015
dr. Mirna Annisa2016-2021
Dico Mahtado Ganinduto, B.Sc2021-Incumbent

List of Vice Regents

1Masduki Yusak2000-2005
2Dra. Siti Nurmarkesi2005-2008
3KH. Mustamsikin2010-2015
4Drs. Masrur Masykur2016-2021
5H. Windu Suko Basuki, SH2021-Incumbent

Sport

Kendal has a soccer club, the Persik Kendal. Its stadium is the Bahurekso Stadium. The stadium is located at Kebondalem Village, Kendal City. It also has some volleyball clubs at the Krida Bahurekso Gym.

Industry

One of the Industries in Kendal is Kendal Industrial Estate in Kaliwungu District and Sugar Factory in Cepiring District. The Sugar Factory in Cepiring has existed since the Dutch era.

Tourism

Natural Tourism

  • Ngebum Beach. Located In Kaliwungu
  • Curug Sewu / Sewu Waterfall. Located in Patean
  • Jeglong Waterfall. Located in Plantungan
  • Cacaban Tourism Village. Located in Singorojo
  • Sekatul Agrotourism. Located in Limbangan
  • Muara Kencan beach. Located in Patebon
  • Ngebruk Fruit Garden in Patean.
  • Sendang Sikucing. Located in Rowosari
  • Semawur Waterfall. Located in Plantungan
  • Kiskendo Cave. Located in Singorojo
  • Penglebur Gongso Waterfall. Located in Limbangan
  • Selo Arjuno Hill. Located in Limbangan
  • Tiban Island Tourism in Patebon.
  • Gonoharjo Hot Spring. Located in Limbangan
  • Medini Tea Plantation. Located in Limbangan

Sewu Waterfall/ Curug Sewu

Religious Tourism

  • Wali Joko's Grave. Located in Kendal Mosque Complex
  • Wali Hadi's Grave. Located in Kendal Mosque Complex
  • The Tomb of Prince Djoeminah. Located in Kaliwungu
  • Tomb of Sunan Bromo. Located in Boja
  • Kyai Asyari's Grave. Located in Kaliwungu
  • Wali Gembyang's Grave. Located in Kendal City
  • The Tomb of Habib Mansyur Al Munawar. Located in Kendal City

Event

  • Kendal Expo in Kebondalem Village. Kendal City
  • Nyadran. In Kendal Coast
  • Syawalan. In Kaliwungu and Boja

Notable people

Typical Culinary

Food

  • Mangut Lele
  • Telur Ikan Mimi
  • Soto Kendal
  • Momoh
  • Sate Bumbon
  • Brongkos
  • Bebek Ijo
  • Rica Rica Menthog
  • Pecel Kembang Turi
  • Krupuk Petis
  • Rambak
Rambak

Drink

  • Kopi Cacaban
  • Bir Jawa
  • Dawet Sukun Ireng