As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an important centre for classical Javanese fine arts and culture such as ballet, batik textiles, drama, literature, music, poetry, silversmithing, visual arts, and wayang puppetry.

Yogyakarta is named after the Indian city of Ayodhya, the birthplace of the eponymous hero Rama from the Ramayana epic.

[13] In colonial era correspondence, the city is often written in the Javanese script as ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ,[14] read as /ˌŋɑːjɒɡjəˈkɑːrtə/ with the added prefix nga-.

Mataram became the centre of a refined and sophisticated Javanese Hindu-Buddhist culture for about three centuries in the heartland of the Progo River valley, on the southern slopes of Mount Merapi volcano.

After two changes of capital—to Karta and then to Plered, both located in present-day Bantul Regency—the capital of the Mataram Sultanate finally moved to Kartasura.

[citation needed] A civil war in the Mataram Sultanate broke out between Pakubuwono II (1745–1749), the last ruler of Kartasura, and his younger brother and heir apparent to the throne, Prince Mangkubumi (later known as Hamengkubuwono I, the first Sultan of Yogyakarta, and the founder of the current ruling royal house).

Prince Mangkubumi, stood against the agreement, citing concerns that the people would become slaves under Dutch rule.

[citation needed] With Pakubowono II dead from illness, the Yogyakarta Sultanate was established as a result of the Treaty of Giyanti (Perjanjian Gianti), signed and ratified on 13 February 1755 among Prince Mangkubumi, the Dutch East India Company, and his nephew Pakubuwono III and his allies.

On 20 June 1812, Sir Stamford Raffles led a 1,200-strong British force to capture the Yogyakarta kraton.

The Yogyakarta forces, surprised by the attack, were easily defeated; the kraton fell in one day, and was subsequently sacked and burnt.

Sukarno proclaimed the independence of the Indonesian Republic on 17 August 1945; Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX promptly sent a letter to Sukarno, expressing his support for the newly born nation of Indonesia and acknowledging the Yogyakarta Sultanate as part of the Indonesian Republic.

The Sultanate of Surakarta did the same, and both of the Javanese kingdoms were accordingly awarded privileged statuses as "Special Regions" within the Indonesian Republic.

Later the Dutch also invaded Yogyakarta, causing the Republic's capital to be transferred once again, to Bukittinggi in West Sumatra on 19 December 1948.

For its significant contribution to the survival of the Indonesian Republic, Yogyakarta was given autonomy as a "special district",[20] making it the only region headed by a recognised monarchy in Indonesia.

The large local market of Beringharjo (id) and the restored Dutch fort of Vredeburg are on the eastern part of the southern end of Malioboro.

Surrounding the Kraton is a densely populated residential neighbourhood that occupies land that was formerly the Sultan's sole domain.

Evidence of this former use remains in the form of old walls, scattered throughout the city, and the ruins of the Taman Sari water castle, built in 1758 as a pleasure garden.

Mount Merapi (literally "mountain of fire" in both Indonesian and Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta features a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen: Am) as the precipitation in the driest months between June and September are below 100 millimetres (3.9 inches).

ꦩꦤ꧀ꦠꦿꦶꦗꦼꦫꦺꦴꦤ꧀ ꦏꦿꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ ꦩꦼꦂꦒꦁꦱꦤ꧀ ꦈꦩ꧀ꦧꦸꦭ꧀ꦲꦂꦗ ꦏꦸꦛꦒꦼꦝꦺ ꦒꦤ꧀ꦢꦏꦸꦱꦸꦩꦤ꧀ ꦢꦤꦸꦸꦉꦗꦤ꧀ ꦥꦏꦸꦮꦭꦩ꧀ꦩꦤ꧀ ꦒꦤ꧀ꦢꦩꦤꦤ꧀ ꦔꦩ꧀ꦥꦶꦭ꧀ꦭꦤ꧀ ꦮꦶꦫꦧꦿꦗꦤ꧀ ꦒꦼꦝꦺꦴꦁꦠꦼꦔꦼꦤ꧀ ꦗꦼꦛꦶꦱ꧀ ꦠꦼꦒꦭ꧀ꦉꦗ In 2017, the Gross Domestic Regional Product (GRDP) of Yogyakarta City at current prices was 31.31 trillion rupiahs (around US$2.2 billion).

[25][24][26] To rapidly jumpstart the economy, a plan for the 2nd phase of Indonesian high speed train is currently being developed from Bandung to Yogyakarta & Solo, initiating construction by 2020, which is projected to be completed by 2024.

In 2014, the religious composition in Yogyakarta was distributed over Islam (82.32%), Catholicism (10,66%), Protestantism (6.54%), Buddhism (0.34%), Hinduism (0.13%), and Confucianism (0.01%).

Yogyakarta has been traditionally known as a region where different faiths live in harmony, but in recent years religious intolerance has grown.

[28] In 2018, the governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono X, called for religious freedoms to be preserved after a terrorist attack against churches and public buildings in Surabaya the same year.

[citation needed] Malioboro street is a popular shopping and culinary area within the city, which has pedestrian zone.

The city is located on one of the two major railway lines that run across Java between Jakarta in the west and Surabaya in the east.