A hidden wonderful place has been found, in the heart of Denpasar; it stands firmly on the center of a very wide green yard. No one will expect amazing spectacles inside of this monument. Balinese Struggle Monument is located at Jl. Raya Puputan, Renon Denpasar. You will find a green field and a monument in the centre of the field. Its shape looks like a bell with spacious lawn surrounding the monument.
Balinese People Struggle Monument has four identical gates on four sides of the monument. All will take you to the monument. You can get confused by these gates because they have the same features, but don’t worry they will you take you inside the monument or exit the building.
The division of this building based on concept of Tri Mandala (A Balinese cosmo-geological concepts that is applied on a building). Nista Mandala (the outside part) of this building is the green yard including the gates. Then if you keep on entering through the stairs, you will find small garden as Madya Mandala (the middle part). Continue your walk, you will get to the Utama Mandala (the Main part) and you will see a smaller garden and pond circling the main building; you are allowed to feed the fish; but don’t forget to buy the food first at information booth.
The main building itself also consist of three parts those are : Nistaning Utama Mandala (first floor), Madyaning Utama Mandala (the second floor), and Utamaning utama mandala (the third floor). Upon entering Utamaning utama mandala you will be welcomed by fancy sculpture made from lime stone and the surrounding is very cozy, clean and well-managed. In this floor you can find Information booth, Staff Room, Exhibition Room, Library, Souvenir Shop, Meeting Room, and last but not least Toilet. The most interesting room is exhibition room because it exhibits interesting artifacts range from documentary photos to documentary letters about the history of Bali. In this floor a small pond also lays in the center which is inhabited by various fish.
In Madyaning Utama Mandala, a diorama room has been waiting to be seen. In this room there are 33 dioramas of Balinese history. Diorama no 1 until 15 tell about Balinese in pre-history and Balinese Kingdom and diorama no 16 until 33 tell about Balinese people struggle against the Dutch.
In front of the diorama room there is a winding stairs. It consists of 70 stairs which will bring you to the Utamaning Utama Mandala, the highest part of this monument. From this place you can get a bird-eye view of Denpasar City. This is good place for contemplation. The best thing of this room is the ceiling; it tells us about the division of Cardinal Point a la Balinese. The ceiling is divided into 9 areas; 8 areas circling the one in the center, each area has a particular sign. The signs are the weapons which are used by gods who control each of cardinal points.
There are so many things about Bali which can be learnt from this monument. Just ask your guide to show you this monument. By only paying Rp 10.000 for adult and Rp 5.000 for kids you can get all in one, touring and studying. This monument opens from 8.30 until 17.00 in every single day. Happy touring, Happy learning!
