Kerta Gosa

Built in 1686 by Dewa Agung Jambe, Taman Gili Kerta Gosa is one of the best cultural heritage sites in Bali today. Kerta Gosa is a building that was formally open part of the Castle complex Semarapura.

Located in the heart of Klungkung regency, next to the main markets, Kerta Gosa has been renovated and preserved by the government. Inside the walls with traditional Balinese carvings, there are two stands of tall buildings, called "Bale Akerta Gosa" and "Bale Kambang". Bale Akerta Gosa is a tall building on the corner right after the entrance, as well as larger Kambang Bale is located in the center and surrounded by a pond.

Besides the beautiful architecture, unique Kerta Gosa is located in the ceiling are covered with paintings bale traditional Kamasan style. Kamasan is a village in Klungkung regency which has gained a big name for the painting child. Kamasan paintings usually take the Ramayana or Mahabharata epics such as the theme of the painting. Kamasan paintings are usually found in temples as an ornament that has many meanings.

Earlier paintings on the ceiling Kerta Gosa made in fabric, but in 1930 restored and painted on plasterboard. The paintings on the ceiling Kerta Gosa offers valuable spiritual lessons. If one looks at this in detail, in every part of the ceiling tells a different story, there is a section that talks about karma and reincarnation, and the other part describes every phase of human life from birth to death. The painting is divided into six levels, representing the afterlife, and most of that is nirvana.

Kambang Bale is a beautiful building in the middle of the pond. Kamasan paintings on the ceiling depict the story of the epic Sutasoma. Both sides of the bridge to the bale is guarded by statues representing the characters from the epic backdrop with a lotus pond.

The theme of the painting indicates that the building functioned as a place for the royal family to hold religious ceremonies to rituals such as weddings and Manusa Yadnya tooth filing ceremony. Gosa Kerta also serves as the court during the Dutch occupation in Klungkung regency in the year 1908-1942.