There is no written record of who built Borobudur or of its intended purpose. The construction time has been estimated by comparison between carved reliefs on the temple’s hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters during the 8th and 9th centuries. Borobudur was likely founded around 800 AD. This corresponds to the period between 760 and 830 AD, the peak of the Sailendra dynasty in central Java, when it was under the influence of the Srivijayan Empire. The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years and been completed during the reign of Samaratungga in 825 AD.
Borobudur, A UNESCO World Heritage Site, view from the northwest
Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The facts behind its abandonment remain a mystery. It is not known when active use of the monument and Buddhist pilgrimage to it ceased. Following the Anglo-Dutch Java War, Java was under British administration from 1811 to 1816. The appointed governor was Lieutenant Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles, who took great interest in the history of Java. On an inspection tour to Semarang in 1814, he was informed about a big monument deep in a jungle. It took two months, and 200 men to cut down trees, burned down vegetation and dug away the earth to reveal the monument.
Water drainage (by bicrom) Carved stone
Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage, once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument.
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Magsx2's Blog 
What a job … to carve all that! So many wonderful works of art around the world — good that it’s protected.
Raffles … he might be the one who’s given his name to that hotel/bar in Singarpore?!
Hi Rebakah,
Yes there are some beautiful works of art around the world, places like this temple you can never replace.
You are spot on, Raffles in Singapore is named after the same man.
I’d love to go there … Raffles, that is. I don’t see it happening in any foreseeable future though..
It would be lovely to spend some time at Raffles, it has a fantastic reputation, but I would love to stay at the new Marina Bay Sands.
There is a video about this Hotel Marina Bay Sands, a must watch I feel, if you would like to have a look you can watch the video here.
Very intricate carvings. Must have taken ages. I would love to see it. I ‘m glad it’s a World Heritage site. I would hate to see it destroyed.
Hi Selma,
It is magnificent, you just couldn’t reproduce anything like this today, these would of course been all hand done, the amount of time this would of taken to do, and how many great artists worked on the reliefs which is right through the temple, amazing when you think about it.
I love your close-ups of the carvings and your narration. Thanks for sharing this. I love it.
Hi Lafemmeroar,
Glad you enjoyed the post, the carvings are very well done I thought.
What an enormously exciting find that must have been – to unearth that huge monument – wow. What a moment for the explorers. I’d love to visit it.
Hi SDO,
It would of been very exciting, imagine “stumbling” onto something like this, and then starting to dig to see what on earth, it would of seemed never ending it is huge.
Amazing! It’s mind-boggling to think how long it took to create such a beautiful sacred site, and not just simple walls, but intricate carvings with specific meanings on different levels of the temple. As the narrator in the video said, it must be hard for the camera to capture the scope of it and the atmosphere…
Hi Barbara,
I totally agree, it would be amazing to walk around this Temple, it would be a great feeling, and awe inspiring.