Sumbawa Besar is a town on the
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n island of
Sumbawa
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. Along with Lombok, it forms the province of West Nusa Tenggara, but th ...
, and is the second-biggest settlement on the island after
Bima
Bima (Indonesia: ''Kota Bima'') is a city on the eastern coast of the island of Sumbawa in central Indonesia's province West Nusa Tenggara. It is the largest city on the island of Sumbawa, with a population of 142,443 at the 2010 census and 155,1 ...
. It is the administrative capital of the
Sumbawa Regency within the province of
West Nusa Tenggara
West Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Barat – NTB) is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the exception of Bali which is its own province. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest ...
, and has a population of 56,337 inhabitants as of the 2010 census and 62,753 at the 2020 Census.
Name
The slogan of Sumbawa Besar is ''BESAR'', meaning "big" in
Indonesian. However, this slogan has also been used an acronym for:
* B: ''Bersih'' ("Clean")
* E: ''Elok'' ("Beautiful")
* S: ''Sehat'' ("Healthy")
* A: ''Aman'' ("Safe")
* R: ''Rapi'' ("Proper")
Languages
Indonesian is widely spoken in Sumbawa Besar, with some local languages such as
Sumbawa
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. Along with Lombok, it forms the province of West Nusa Tenggara, but th ...
. Several people can also speak
Balinese.
Transportation
Public transportation in Sumbawa Besar may include ''
bemo'', ''dokar'' (a traditional
horse-drawn vehicle), and ''
becak''.
There is one airport,
Sultan Muhammad Kaharuddin III Airport (formerly Bandar Udara Brangbiji), serving small flights to and from
Mataram,
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is ...
.
The harbour of Sumbawa Besar is of minor importance. However,
Poto Tano (
id), the most important harbour of Sumbawa, is to the west.
There is no railway on Sumbawa.
Tourism and sights
![MasjidSumbawa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/MasjidSumbawa.jpg)
![SuBesarDutchRefChurch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/SuBesarDutchRefChurch.JPG)
Sumbawa Besar has a few historic buildings from the Dutch colonial period.
The former palace of the sultan, the ''Istana Dalam Loka'', was built in 1885 with 99 columns, and without the use of a single nail; well-known Sultan Jalaludin III reigned in the area from 1883-1893. The palace, renovated in the 1980s, is today used for various cultural events.
The largest mosque in Sumbawa Besar, Masjid Agung Nurul Huda, was built beside the palace. The Dutch Reformed Church (''Gereja Masehi Injili di Timor'') of Sumbawa Besar was founded around 1900, and still holds services. A
Balinese Hindu temple, ''Pura Agung Giri Gnatha'', is nearby.
In 1932, the Dutch constructed the ''Balai Kuning'', a tall administration building in a European half-timbered style. The foundation stone from 11 February 1932, with Dutch inscription, is still visible on the northern wall. The building houses various weapons and clothing used by previous sultans, and is surrounded by a park, with two canons dating from colonial times.
![SuBesarPark](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/SuBesarPark.JPG)
''Taman Krato'' is a park with avenues of palms and
hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...
on Jalan Merdeka, the street opposite the ''Balai Kuning''.
The clock tower on the corner of Jalan Kartini and Jalan Sultan Hasanuddin is considered to be the middle of Sumbawa Besar.
Education
![SuBesarUniv](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/SuBesarUniv.JPG)
Sumbawa Besar has various public schools and one private
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
school.
A university was founded in 1998, Universitas Samawa ("UNSA"; "Samawa University"), across the
Brang Biji River
The Brang Biji River ( Indonesian: ''Sungai Brang Biji''; in Sumbawarese, "''Brang''" means "river") is a river in the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia, about 1,200 km east of the capital Jakarta. to the west of the city centre. The study programs include Management Finance and Banking (D3), Mechanical Engineering (D3), Civil Engineering (D3 & S1), Physics, Agronomy, Administration, Economy, Food Science, and Education (S1).
Climate
Sumbawa Besar has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(Aw) with moderate to little rainfall from April to November and heavy rainfall from December to March.
Surroundings
The village of Poto, about east of Sumbawa Besar, is known for its traditional architecture and ''
ikat
''Ikat'' (in Indonesian languages means "bind") is a dyeing technique originating from Indonesia used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric.
In ''ikat'', the resist is formed by b ...
'' weaving.
Air Beling, a waterfall with a height of , is near the village of Semamung, and is located in a forest previously used as royal hunting grounds.
Mount Tambora
Mount Tambora, or Tomboro, is an active stratovolcano in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Located on Sumbawa in the Lesser Sunda Islands, it was formed by the active subduction zones beneath it. Before 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, 1815, its e ...
, an active
stratovolcano whose
1815 eruption was one of the world’s most powerful, lies to the northeast of Sumbawa Besar.
The Batu Bulan Dam was built from 1998–2003 with financial aid from
Japan, and is used for the irrigation of 5,576 hectares of land.
Culture
Regional Specialties
Sumbawa has several regional specialties, these includes:
;Food
* Sepat
* Gecok (Sumbawa)
* Singang
* Pelu lenga
* Rambarang
;Cakes
* Manjareal
* Permen jadi
* Putri mandi
* Janda berenang
References
{{Authority control
Lesser Sunda Islands
Populated places in West Nusa Tenggara
Sumbawa
Regency seats of West Nusa Tenggara