Pakalongan

Pekalongan (Javanese: ꦦꦼꦏꦭꦺꦴꦔꦤ꧀) is a city of Central Java, Indonesia. It was formerly the seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of the province, but is now an independent municipality within the province. It covers a land area of 45.25 km2 and had a population of 281,434 at the 2010 Census[2] and 307,150 at the 2020 Census;[3] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 317,524 (comprising 160,369 males and 157,155 females).[1] The city is Central Java's most important port, and is known for its batik. Since December 2014, Pekalongan has been a member of UNESCO's World's Creative Cities Network, the first Southeast Asian city to be added to the list.[4] The Dutch name of the city is 'Pacalongan'. The coastal area around Pekalongan was part of the ancient Holing (Kalingga) kingdom. The 7th century Sojomerto inscription, discovered in neighboring Batang Regency, Central Java, is linked with Kalingga as well as the ancestor of the Sailendras. The exact location of the Kalingga capital is unclear. It has been suggested that it was somewhere between Pekalongan and Jepara; however it is most likely that it was located in Pekalongan, rather than Jepara, since there is similarity of names between Kalingga and Pekalongan. The name probably slightly shifted over centuries, from Kalingga, Kaling, Kalong, and later added with pe- -an circumfix forming "Pekalongan".