Jepara is a small town in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. It has two claims to fame, as the birthplace of Kartini and as a large-scale producer of hand-crafted teak furniture. It is also the main town of the district of Jepara, which has a population of about 1 million. Map of Central Java province within Indonesia Central Java (Indonesian: Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. ... Raden Adjeng Kartini or, more accurately, Raden Ayu Kartini, (Jepara, 21 April 1879 - Rembang, 13 September 1904), was a prominent Javanese and an Indonesian national heroine. ...

Jepara is on the north coast of Java, north-east of Semarang. The population is almost entirely Javanese and over 95% Muslim. In the 16th century it was an independent kingdom, and was twice burned by the Dutch. Semarang is a city on the north coast of the island of Java, Indonesia. ... The approximately 90 million Javanese form the largest ethnic group in Indonesia. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

As a pesisir (an area close to sea), many trader from around the world landed in this city centuries ago. As a result, some of Jepara resident's ancestor is European, Chinese, Arabs, Malays, Bugis, etc. What makes it hard to detect is that they were all blended in one culture, and married not exclusively to the same race.

This district of Jepara has a very various landscape from islands, beach to mountain. This condition led to many of recreation area includes : Karimun Jawa islands, Bandengan beach, Kartini beach, Sreni pine forest, Benteng Portugis, and Muria Mountain.

The town is famous throughout Indonesia and internationally for its artistic furniture. The production of teak furniture, hand crafted with elaborate decoration, employs about 80,000 people in the town, working in a large number of mainly small workshops. The trade has brought considerable prosperity to Jepara, well above the average for Central Java. Since there is a large export trade, the fall in the value of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar and other currencies has probably led to an increase in income for the furniture makers. The 1998-2001 series of rupiah banknotes Rupiah (Rp) is the monetary unit of Indonesia (currency code IDR). ...

Jepara is also well known for a distinct fruit named Durian Petruk. Species About 27 species, including: Durio dulcis Durio grandiflorus Durio graveolens Durio kutejensis Durio oxleyanus Durio wyattsmithii Durio zibethinus The durian is the fruit of several species of trees in the genus Durio, especially Durio zibethinus. ...

External link

Inside Indonesia article on Jepara