These monuments spread out on the slopes of the Ungaran mount 12 km of Ambarawa, in the northeast of the Dieng plateau.
The temples of the group of Gedong Songo (nine monuments) are of the same type as those of the Dieng plateau, and date certainly from the same time, i.e. 750, except the number one, more evolved, which could be built in year 800. Some stairs make it possible to reach a platform on which the trunk of the monument is posed. A advanced porch of approximately a meter is used as access passage to the small cella square. Above the cubic median part one can see the superstructure formed of four stages in steps. The unit is overcome by a hat having in general the shape of a cylinder posed on a bearing. The four levels are surrounded by a balustrade on which are posed, on place of the eight directions small stupas or antéfixes.
They are numbered in the order ascending, from one to nine, low with highest. Only some temples are still upright or were restored. Each one of these constructions was in fact a group of temples, of which the currently visible most complete representation is at temple III. We can see there three temples of which largest, the one of the center, is devoted to Shiva with its lingam in the cella square.
The temple is opening west. On the three others faces, outside, one sees there the statues of Durga, Ganesha and Agastya. On both sides of the entry, two niches sheltered the two divine guards of doors: on the left Nandisvara, the nice one, and on the right Mahakala, the malicious one with the wild aspect and which holds a club. Next to this one, in north direction, is another temple, dedicated to Vishnu , and to the south, a destroyed temple was certainly dedicated to Brahma. In front of these three temples, on the same platform, three small constructions were to contain the images of the mountings of each gods. Temples II, III and VI had their statue of Nandi.
The other complexes of Gedong Songo, today ruined or limited to only one monument, in general restored recently, were to arise in the same way, with however architectural evolutions or aesthetic characteristics. There is there the prototype of what will be made in much larger with the Candi Prambanan, like for the majority of the hindu temples of Java until the 13th century.
The three
pictures of Agastya, Durga, and Ganesha from the Shiva temple of the third group.
Candi
Muncul is a complex little known and yet extremely interesting. It is located
at the bottom of a valley, in the south of Ngempon, small city in the east of
Ambarawa, but where nobody seems to know this temple.
We are here in the presence of the remainders, i.e. of the more or less reconstituted bases, of six principal structures, with various small buildings around, of an hinduist sanctuary , built doubtless in 8th century.
On
a small terrace dominating a river, one thus has, face to face, two lines of
three temples, closes ones to the others, in the configuration of group III
of Gedong Songo, and with temples with architecture identical to the latter.
Candi Candirejo :
The
remainders of this temple is to 1 km of the road in an underwood, to the place
says Candirejo, to approximately ten km in the east of Ngempon. With the foot
of a tree and around, one can see some stones of old candi.
Candi Pringapus :
This temple,
built in 850, is located in the village of Pringapus, 30 km north east of Temanggung.
On an arranged terrace, of a score of meters in dimensions, is
a small single building . This temple, built on the models of the temples of
Dieng, not far from there, shows a rich decoration on his four faces, like on
the antéfixes of the roof.
The frontage of entry of the sanctuary, opened in the west, offers a superb example of Kala Makara to us , magnificently preserved. On both sides of the door, two very beautiful panels represent a couple of celestial creatures.
At the
interior of the cella, one can see an big Nandi, the mounting of Shiva, whose
width is quite higher than the door. All around the terrace are stored many
stones, remainders of the various surrounding buildings.
Candi Perot :
Candi Perot
was with approximately 300 meters of candi Pringapus, and made party
of the same very great religious complex.
There remain nothing any more but the foundations, and of the fragments which
were laid out around the terrace of candi Pringapus.
Among these relics,
we can see a beautiful statue of Durga Mahisharuramardini.
