Magelang (Javanese: ꦩꦒꦼꦭꦁ) is one of six cities in the Central Java Province of Indonesia that are administratively independent of the regencies in which they lie geographically.

[6] There are three steles of historical importance in Magelang, namely Poh, Gilikan, and Mantyasih, all of which are written on a plate of copper.

[6] On the Mantyasih stele, it mentioned the name of King Watukura Dyah Balitung, as well as 829 Çaka bulan Çaitra tanggal 11 Paro-Gelap Paringkelan Tungle, Pasaran Umanis hari Senais Sçara atau Sabtu, which means Saturday Legi, 11 April 907.

[6] The city has historically been a military post, dating back to the Dutch East Indies colonial era.

It subsequently acted as an army stronghold for Indonesian pro-independence movements against the Dutch government during the resistance period.

[5] Journalist Taichiro Kaijimura announced on 12 May 2007 the discovery of 30 Netherlands government documents submitted to the Tokyo tribunal as evidence of a forced mass prostitution incident by the Japanese army in 1944 in Magelang.

The majority of Magelang's population follows Islam (85.68%), but there are minority groups such as Christianity (13.80%), Buddhism (0.4%), Hinduism (0.08%), and there are also spiritualism and traditional Javanese belief (0.01%).

[2] Magelang is the closest major town to Borobudur, a ninth-century Buddhist monument located about 40 km (25 mi) northwest of Yogyakarta.

Just 12 km from the town centre is Candi Selogriyo, an eighth-century Hindu temple near the village of Candisari.

The river is ideal for white water rafting because the characteristics of flow and flooding are relatively stable, so it is relatively safe to be forded in both the dry and rainy seasons.

The area has the Matahari and Gardena department stores, Magelang's only cinema, to the north, the Trio Plaza and the BCA tower; in the south, a police station, the BPD Bank building, and a Confucian temple along Jalan Pemuda.

Besides, the Gedung Olah Raga "Samapta" is a popular sports venue in the sub-district of North Magelang.

A 28-hectare park, Kyai Langgeng, is located at Cempaka Street approximately one kilometer south of the city centre.

The main transportation which are operating in Magelang are cars, motorcycles, buses, paddy cabs, becak, and bicycles.

Magelang used to have a railway track from Semarang to Yogyakarta passing at its centre (along Jalan Pemuda), but has since been redirected outside the city.

Following lava flows from Mount Merapi through the Kali Putih River in Gempol in 2011, the main road connecting Magelang and Yogyakarta has closed several times.

An estimated Rp.64 billion ($7.3 million) project to build a bridge over the river, a 2.3 kilometer-long stream dredge and land acquisition is being built by the government.

It is made of "Hidup", "Aman", "RAPi", "Asri" dan "Nyaman" (in English: living, safe, tidy, green, and comfort)[18]