
square, there is an entrance leading to the residence 
of  the  King  or  Regent,  where  there  is  a  pavilion. 
Civil servants or other people who want to meet with 
the  king or regent are  waiting for  their  time to  be 
called if the King approves their arrival. Therefore, 
the pavilion is sometimes called Paseban (as long as 
the  word  Seba).  In  the  past,  in  the  square,  every 
Saturday  or  Monday  (Seton  or  Senenan), thrusting 
games  were  held  (matches  on  horses  using  blunt 
spears), or a tiger match in a crowd called ‘Rampog 
Tiger’. During this performance, the king sat in Siti 
Inggil, the highest place in front of the Keraton door. 
At  the  Regent’s  place,  there  is  a  stage  to  see  the 
spectacle. In West Java, there is also a small square 
in front of the village head’s house, but the square is 
not surrounded by banyan trees. Mosques are often 
located on the west side of the square”. 
The square has existed since the pre-colonial era. 
The  times  went  by,  but  the  physical  form  of  the 
square itself has not  undergone  many  changes, the 
concept underlying the physical form since the pre-
colonial  era  has  undergone  many  changes.  This 
concept  actually  determines  the  function  and 
presence  of  the  square  in  a  city  in  Java.  The 
Surakarta  Palace  or  the  complete  Surakarta 
Hadiningrat Palace in its present state is the result of 
cultural heritage, continuation and the final journey 
of  the  Mataram  kingdom.  The  Keraton  Surakarta 
had  been the  center  of the  Mataram kingdom as  a 
whole  for  approximately  ten  years  since  it  was 
transferred from Kartasura to Sala in 1745 until the 
Giyanti  agreement  in  1755  which  divided  the 
Mataram  Kingdom  into  two,  Kasunanan  Surakarta 
and  Kasultanan  Yogyakarta.  In  addition,  Salatiga 
Kalicacing  Agreement  divided  the  Kasunana 
Surakarta palace into the Surakarta  Palace  and  the 
Mangkunegaran Duchy. 
The Surakarta Square area as one of the cultural 
and  historical  relics  in  the  City  of  Surakarta  is 
basically an area that has historical value and is an 
area  that has  an  inheritance  in the  form  of  certain 
architectural buildings and designs that characterize 
past conditions at that time. This area was once part 
of  one  of  the  centers  of  the  royal  government  in 
Central Java (Keraton  Surakarta). At the beginning 
of  the  establishment  of  the  Palace  and  until  the 
independence  period,  this  area  was  designated  as 
part  of  the  public  space  to  support  activities  or 
events from the Pakubuwono Palace. But then, the 
establishment  of  Negara  Kesatuan  Republik 
Indonesia (NKRI) brought influence on the status of 
the  court  as  part  of  aristocratic  influence.  It  also 
affects changes in the use of North Square and South 
Square, which later developed as a public space and 
can be accessed by all circles. 
The status of the public space applied to the two 
squares, not to mention the opening of the Surakarta 
Palace as one of the tourist attractions in Surakarta, 
implies one of them is the entry of informal traders 
who actually bring problems to the sustainability of 
this Surakarta Square area. There are so many street 
vendors  who  meet  the  area  that  it  covers  its 
existence as an area that has a high historical value. 
As a result of the expansion of the North and South 
Square complex which used to be so fast as a court 
for  street  vendors  and  parking  vehicles,  especially 
tourist  vehicles,  makes  the  meaning  of  the  palace 
complex and the square as  a  cultural heritage  fade 
away. 
Another problem is that there are contradictions 
and conflicts of  interest between  economic  aspects 
by maintaining the informal sector and maintaining 
tourism  objects  of  the  Surakarta  Palace.  However, 
they  can  be  in  mutual  support  when  they  are 
properly  planned.  Furthermore, it  can  be identified 
that there is a tendency to use public space for the 
benefit  of  some  people  who  shifted  the use  of  the 
public space. In addition, the condition of the space 
structure  in the Surakarta  Square at  this  time  does 
not describe the answer to parking needs and street 
vendors because the number of street vendors lined 
up and filled the road starting from Gapura Gladag, 
ring  road  North  Square,  the  front  of  the  Great 
Mosque  of  Surakarta  and  South  Square  which  is 
every year increasing in number, especially after the 
events held by the Kraton which invite many visitors 
such  as  Organizing  Ceremony  or  Kirab  Satu  Suro 
(source:  interview  with  Revitalization  .  Therefore, 
the  impact  caused  in  the  Surakarta  Square  Area 
shows that the impact of the development  of other 
trade  and  non-cultural  activities  such  as  the 
existence of street vendors in the area has removed 
the face of the region as a cultural heritage area and 
the  loss  of  aesthetic  impression  and  monumental 
impression  of  the  region  because  this  trading 
activities  have  caused  slums  and  dirtiness  on  the 
face of the region. 
Street  vendors  who  occupy  the  public space  of 
the  city  are  street  vendors  located  in  the  South 
Square of Kasunanan Surakarta Palace. This square 
is  one  of  the  public  spaces  which  is  used  by  the 
communities  of  Surakarta  and  its  surroundings  to 
spend  free  time.  A  large  number  of  people  in 
Surakarta  City  and  its  surroundings  who  take 
benefits of this public space creates opportunities for 
street  vendors  to  sell  their  products.  They  assume 
that the southern square is a job area that has enough 
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