Buleleng Regency has many places that tourists can enjoy. Not only the beauty of Lovina Beach with its dolphin attractions, and the beautiful natural scenery of waterfalls. You can also visit a museum that holds a lot of important history of Bali. Uniquely, this history is not written on paper. But it was carved on the palm leaf. Well, if you are interested in ancient manuscripts, then you should visit Gedong Kirtya Museum.

Gedong Kirtya Museum 

During your time in Buleleng, take your time to come to Gedong Kirtya Museum located on Jalan Veteran No 20, Singaraja City, Buleleng Regency. This museum is precisely located in the office complex of the Regional Government of Buleleng Regency. So it's not so hard to find the location. From the outside, the museum looks just like a simple building. Although far from luxury, this building has a priceless history.

The Gedong Kirtya Museum was established in Singaraja on June 2, 1928, and was opened to the public on September 14, 1928. Singaraja was chosen as the location because it was the capital of Bali Province. The museum was built by the Dutch government to commemorate the services of two Dutch scholars who have pioneered the investigation of culture, tradition, and language in Bali. 

At Gedong Kirtya Museum, you can find a variety of Balinese palm leaves made like notebooks. Because in ancient times, palm leaves (lontar) were used by ancestors to write important events that occurred in Bali and Lombok. This papyrus is very valuable because it is only among scholars and people who are allowed to write on this leaf. The languages used are Old Javanese, Sanskrit, Balinese, and Dutch. 

The number of papyrus collections that you can find here is around 1,808. The way it’s structured is very well done. These lontars are inserted into a box called Keropak with a length of up to 60 meters. To simplify the search, palm leaves are arranged based on seven groups, Vedic, Religion, Wariga, Itihasa, Babad, Tantri, and Lelampahan. 

Until today, the writing activity on lontar was still continued by the museum officials. They copied the previously written lontar. So when you visit, you can see the officers practicing this lontar writing technique. If you give a donation to the museum, the clerk will give a souvenir: one sheet of lontar, contains your biodata. Interesting, right? 

Gedong Kirtya Museum is very suitable to be visited if you want an educational and historical place. During your visit, you should keep your voice down. Do not bother the officers who are working, and also students who are conducting research. You can visit the museum for Monday to Thursday at 08:00 WITA - 16:00 WITA, and especially on Fridays, the museum is only open from 08:00 WITA - 13:00 WITA.