Tulungagung Regency

Tulungagung Regency (pronounced ) is a regency (kabupaten) of East Java Province, Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,144.53 km2 and had a population of 990,159 at the 2010 Census and 1,089,775 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 1,132,144. The administrative headquarters is in the town of Tulungagung.

Etymology
Previously, Tulungagung was only a small area located surrounding a location where the center of the town is situated now; that area was named Tulungagung - in the Old Javanese language, tulung means help, and agung means Almighty. It was based on how it used to flood everywhere and people would pray to God so that it wouldn't flood, thus forming the name "tulungagung". The larger area is called Ngrowo. Ngrowo was still used as the name of Tulungagung until the 20th century when the administrative centre's location was moved from Kalangbret to Tulungagung.

History
In 1205 AD, the Thani Lawadan community living in the southern part of Tulungagung received an honor from the last king of Daha, Kertajaya, for their loyalty to the king when there was a siege from the enemy coming from the east of Daha. That honor then was written into an ancient inscription namely Prasasti Lawadan marked as "Sukra Suklapada Mangga Siramasa" which describes the date of November 18, 1205 AD, the date when it was made. That date has been officially used as the establishment date of Tulungagung since 2003.

In Boyolangu Village (Boyolangu district), there is Gayatri Temple, a temple which also a mausoleum for Gayatri (Sri Rajapatni), the fourth wife of the first Majapahit King, Raden Wijaya (Kertarajasa Jayawardhana), who also the mother of the third Majapahit Queen, Sri Gitarja (Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi). Sri Rajapatni was the grandmother of the greatest Majapahit Emperor, Hayam Wuruk (Rajasanegara), who ruled Majapahit in its golden period with the support of his prime minister Gadjah Mada. The name of Boyolangu is shown in Nagarakertagama as a sacred place for Gayatri.

Geography
Tulungagung Regency is located 154 km southwest of Surabaya, the capital city of East Java Province. The other regencies and areas surrounding Tulungagung Regency are:
 * North : Kediri Regency
 * South : Indian Ocean
 * East : Blitar Regency
 * West : Trenggalek Regency

Topographically, Tulungagung Regency is located 85 m above the sea level. The northwest part of the regency is a portion of the Wilis-Liman mountain range; the central part is lowland; the southern part is a portion of the rocky Kapur Kidul mountain range which is also an enormous source of marble. In the northwest part of Tulungagung Regency, specifically in Sendang District, there is Mount Wilis (2563 m), the highest point in Tulungagung Regency. In the capital of Tulungagung, there is the Ngrowo River, a tributary of the Brantas River, and it divides the capital of Tulungagung into northern and southern parts.

Administrative districts
Tulungagung Regency is divided into nineteen districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their population totals from the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 257 rural desa and 14 urban kelurahan - the latter all in Tulungagung (town) District), and its postal codes.

Notes: (a) including 19 small offshore islands. (b) all 14 are classed as urban kelurahan - Bago, Botoran, Jepun, Kampungdalem, Karangwaru, Kauman, Kedungsoko, Kenayan, Kepatihan, Kutoanyar, Panggungrejo, Sembung, Tamanan and Tertek. (c) the total area is now stated (2023) to be 1,144.53 km2, but no breakdown of this figure by district is yet available.

Climate
Tulungagung has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) with moderate to little rainfall from May to October and heavy rainfall from November to April.

The Tulungagung Regency government]] is led by Dr. Heru Suseno, S.TP.,MT. since 25 September 2023 as the regent.

Industries
Tulungagung is a major producer of marble slabs and marble handicraft product. It is the largest marble supply regencies in the southern part of East Java. In 1995, Tulungagung contributed over 33,800 m2 of marble through two companies. Today, we can visit many home-based marble craft workshops in Campurdarat District. Many of these small shops support local artisans and the local economy. Beside marble craft workshops, tourists can find small and medium enterprises that focus on manufacturing housewares such as door mats and brooms made of natural coconut husks, recycled fabrics or other natural materials in Plosokandang (Kedungwaru District). Furthermore, hand-painted batik and ready-to-wear batik sewing workshops can be found scattered in some parts of the city. In Ngunut District travelers can find knapsack, belt, and traditional fried snack industries. Two of the popular snacks are kacang Shanghai (individual peanut rolled in garlic-seasoned flour batter and slow-roasted on pan) and kacang telor (individual peanut rolled in spice-seasoned egg flour batter, slow-roasted on pan).

Official Web sites

 * Official Website of Tulungagung Regency

Other Web sites

 * Profile of Tulungagung Regency on Indonesia's Investment Coordination Board Website