Bogor Palace

Bogor Palace Istana Bogor Het Paleis te Buitenzorg
Bogor Palace seen from the Bogor Botanical Gardens
General information
Architectural style	Indies Empire style
Location	Jalan Ir. H. Juanda, Bogor Tengah Bogor, West Java, Indonesia
Construction started	1744
Renovated	rebuilt 1856
Client	Dutch East Indies Governors-General

The Bogor Palace (Indonesian:Istana Bogor, Dutch:Het Paleis te Buitenzorg) is one of 6 Presidential Palaces of Indonesia, it is located in the city of Bogor, West Java. The palace is noted for its distinctive architectural and historical features, as well as the adjoining botanical gardens. Istana Bogor was opened to the public in 1968 to public tour groups (not individuals), with the permission of the acting President of Indonesia, Suharto. The gardens of the palace covers an area of 284,000 square metres (28.4 hectares).

During the colonial era the palace became favorite residence of the Governors-General due to Bogor's more adaptable climate. It was also favored by the late President Sukarno and became the official presidential residence until his downfall in 1967. The palace remain mostly unused until February 2015, when the new president Joko Widodo moved the president's office from Merdeka Palace to Bogor Palace.

The original colonial building on the site of Istana Bogor was a mansion named Buitenzorg (also Sans Souci, meaning: Without a care in Dutch), which dates back to 1745 as a country retreat for the Dutch Governors to escape the heat and diseases of Batavia. The location for the new palace was discovered by Baron van Imhoff on 10 August 1744, in a village named "Kampong Baroe". On the site he ordered a mansion to be built, however the construction wasn't completed by the end of his career in 1750 and thus it was continued by his preceder Jacob Mossel.