Kendal () is a regency in the northern part of Central Java province in Indonesia, west of Semarang. The regency is bordered by the Java Sea in the north, Semarang City and Semarang Regency in the east, Temanggung Regency in the south, and Batang Regency in the west. Kendal Regency was established on 28 July, 1605. Its administrative capital is the town of Kendal, which is also known as the City of Santri because there are thousands of Ponpes, especially in Kaliwungu District and it is also known as the City of Arts and Culture. The regency covers a land area of 1,003.23 km2 and had a population of 900,313 at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,018,505 at the 2020 census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 1,076,483, consisting of 541,965 (50.35%) males and 534,518 (49.65%) females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Kendal Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3324)
History The name Kendal was taken from the name of a tree, the Kendal Tree. No one at first knew its name, but when Pakuwojo hid in the tree, it was brightly lit. Finally the tree was called the Qondhali tree, which means lighting, and the area where the tree was, was called Qondhali because Javanese were not fluent in Arabic and later became Kendal. The lush leafy tree has been known since the time of the Demak Kingdom in 1500-1546 AD, during the reign of Sultan Trenggono. At the beginning of his reign in 1521, Sultan Trenggono once ruled Sunan Katong to order heirlooms to Pakuwojo. The events that caused the conflict and resulted in the death were recorded in the Inscription. Even now, the tomb of the two figures in Kendal's history in Protomulyo Village, Kaliwungu District, is still widely sacred to the community. According to the story, Sunan Katong was stunned by the beauty and longing of Kendal trees that grew in the surrounding environment. While enjoying the view of the Kendal tree that looks "sari", he mentioned that in the area later it would be called "Kendalsari". The big tree that the people mentioned was located on the edge of Kendal Youth Street was also known as Kendal Growing because the stem was hollow or growing.
A young man named Joko Bahu, a court servant of the Mataram kingdom, was someone who loved others and a hard worker until Joko Bahu succeeded in advancing his area. For this success, Sultan Agung Adi Prabu Hanyokrokusumo finally appointed him as the Kendal Regent, entitled Tumenggung Bahurekso. In addition Tumenggung Bahurekso was also appointed as Commander of the Mataram War on August 26, 1628, to lead tens of thousands of soldiers to invade the VOC in Batavia. In the battle on 21 October, 1628 in Batavia, Tumenggung Bahurekso and his two sons died as Kusuma Bangsa. From the journey of Sang Tumenggung Bahurekso led the VOC attack in Batavia on August 26, 1628, which was then used as a benchmark for the history of the birth of Kendal Regency. Further development with the momentum of the death of Tumenggung Bahurekso as the determination of the anniversary was considered by some to be inappropriate. Because the momentum was a dark history for a character named Bahurekso, it was feared to bring psychological effects. The emergence of the term "fail and fall" in Javanese mythology was feared to form psychological biases that influence the behavior of the pattern of taste, creativity and intentions of the people of Kendal Regency, so that it felt
Kaliwungu triumphed as the centre of government at the inception of Kendal Regency. However, due to the political conditions in the center of Mataram at that time and the consideration of the development of the government, the centre of government was moved to Kendal District. So that finally Kaliwungu is only used for the residence of the father of the Regent, who is often referred to as Kuhan, whereas the government administration is in Kendal District.
During the New Order era, the regency was the site of the Plantungan concentration camp, where former Communist Party and Gerwani members were imprisoned from 1971 to 1979.
Government
Administrative districts Kendal Regency consists of twenty administrative districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Kendal Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3324) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 266 rural desa and 20 urban keluraham - the latter all in Kendal town District), and its post code.
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Area inkm2 Pop'ncensus2010 Pop'ncensus2020 Pop'nestimatemid 2025 Admin centre No.ofvillages Postcode 33.24.01 Plantungan 48.8228,82632,58634,419Tirtomulyo1251362 33.24.03 Sukorejo 76.0157,08060,39961,922Sukorejo1851363 33.24.02 Pageruyung 51.4331,48735,67137,714Pageruyung1451361 33.24.04 Patean 93.9446,89252,10554,610Curugsewu1451364 33.24.05 Singorojo 119.3246,75752,85455,826Ngareanak1351382 33.24.06 Limbangan 71.7230,72234,93737,001Limbangan1651383 33.24.07 Boja 64.0969,41782,44389,042Boja1851381 Sub-totalsSouth (highland) area 525.33311,181351,995370,534 105 33.24.08 Kaliwungu 47.7358,51466,15769,883Sarirejo951372 33.24.20 Kaliwungu Selatan(South Kaliwungu) 65.1944,49554,25155,753Magelung851372-51382 Sub-totalsNorth-east(Kaliwungu) area 112.92103,009120,408125,636 17 33.24.09 Brangsong 34.5444,66250,61153,516Brangsong1251371 33.24.10 Pegandon 31.1233,41837,95440,173Tegorejo1251358 33.24.19 Ngampel 33.8831,10035,85538,209Ngampel Wetan1251357 33.24.11 Gemuh 38.1745,36052,40955,905Gemuh Blanten1651356 33.24.18 Ringinarum 23.5031,86636,62038,968Ringinarum1251359 33.24.12 Weleri 30.2855,77059,88561,803Penyangkringan1651355 33.24.16 Rowosari 32.6446,15153,56657,256Rowosari1651319(a) 33.24.17 Kangkung 38.9842,14349,88353,793Kangkung1551353 33.24.13 Cepiring 30.0846,93252,65455,426Karangayu1551352 33.24.14 Patebon 44.3054,61260,08562,693Jambearum1851351 33.24.15 Kendal (town) 27.4954,10959,83262,571Karangsari20 (b) 51311- 51319 Sub-totalsNorth (lowland) area 364.98486,123546,102580,313 164 Totals 1,003.23900,3131,018,5051,076,483Kendal286
Note: (a) except one desa (Karangsari) for which the post code is 51354. (b) comprising the 20 kelurahan of Balok, Bandengan, Banyutowo, Bugangin, Candiroto, Jetis, Jotang, Kalibuntu Wetan, Karang Sari, Kebondalem, Ketapang, Langenharjo, Ngilir, Pakauman, Patukangan, Pegulon, Sijeruk, Sukodono, Trompo and Tunggulrejo.
Kendal town is the administrative headquarters. Besides Kendal, other significant district centres are Kaliwungu, Boja and Weleri. Kendal Regency has a coastline with a length of 41.0 kilometres.
In general, the Kendal Regency region is divided into two distinct areas, namely lowland areas in the north (with beaches) and highland areas in the south (mountains). The northern region of Kendal Regency is a low-lying area with an altitude between 0–10 metres above sea level, which includes the districts of Weleri, Rowosari, Kangkung, Cepiring, Gemuh, Ringinarum, Pegandon, Ngampel, Patebon, Kendal, Brangsong, and Kaliwungu. The southern part of Kendal Regency is a highland area consisting of mountainous land with an altitude between 10 and 2,579 metres above sea level, covering the districts of Plantungan, Pageruyung, Sukorejo, Patean, Boja, Singorojo, Limbangan and Kaliwungu Selatan.
List of Regents
Tumenggung Bahurekso1605-1629(24 Years)Raden Ngabehi Wiroseco 1629-1641(12 Years)Raden Ngabehi Mertoyudo1641-1649(8 Years)Raden Ngabehi Wongsodiprojo1649-1650(1 Years)Raden Ngabehi Wongsowiroprojo1650-1661(11 Years)Raden Ngabehi Wongsowirosroyo1661-1663(2 Years)Tumenggung Singowijoyo1663-1668(5 Years)Tumenggung Mertowijoyo 11668-1700(2 Years)Tumenggung Mertowijoyo 21700-1725(25 Years)Tumenggung Mertowijoyo 31725-1739 (14 Years)Tumenggung Singowijoyo 21739-1754(15 Years)Tumenggung Soemonegoro 11755-1780(25 Years)Tumenggung Soemonegoro 21780-1785(5 Years)Tumenggung Soerohadinegoro 11785-1796(11 Years)Pangeran Ario Prawirodiningrat 11796-1813(16 Years)Pangeran Ario Prawirodiningrat 21813-1830(17 Years)Raden Tumenggung Purbodiningrat1830-1850(20 Years)Kyai Tumenggung Purbodiningrat1850-1855(5 Years)Pangeran Ario Notohamiprojo1857-1891(34 Years)Raden Mas Kamal Notonegoro1891-1911(20 Years)Patih Raden cokro Hadisastro1911-1914(3 Years)Raden Mas Adipati Notohamijoyo1914-1938(24 Years)Raden Patih Notomudigdo1938(0 Years)Raden Mas Saddin Purbonegoro1938-1942(4 Years)Patih Raden Mas Kusuma Hudoyo1942-1945(3 Years)Soekarmo 1945-1949(4 Years)Raden Ruslan1949(0 Years)Raden Prayitno Partodijoyo1950-1956(6 Years)Raden Sujono1957-1960(3 Years)Raden Salatun1960-1966(6 Years)Mayor Sunardi1966-1967(1 Years)Letkol Suryo Suseno1967-1972(5 Years)Abdus Saleh Ronowijoyo1972-1979(7 Years)Drs. Herman Sumarmo1979-1984(5 Years)Sudono Yusuf BA1984-1989(5 Years)Sumoyo Hadiwinoto 1989-1998(9 Years)Drs. Djumadi1999-2000(1 Years)Hendy Boedoro2000-2008(8 Years)Dra. Siti Nurmarkesi2008-2010(2 Years)Hj. Widya Kandi Susanti2010-2015(5 Years)dr. Mirna Annisa2016-2021(5 Years)Dico Mahtado Ganinduto, B.Sc2021-Incumbent(5 Years)
List of Vice Regents
1Masduki Yusak2000-20052Dra. Siti Nurmarkesi2005-20083KH. Mustamsikin2010-20154Drs. Masrur Masykur2016-20215H. Windu Suko Basuki, SH2021-Incumbent
Sport Kendal has a soccer club, the Persik Kendal. Its stadium is the Bahurekso Stadium. The stadium is located at Kebondalem Village, Kendal City. It also has some volleyball clubs at the Krida Bahurekso Gym.
Industry
One of the Industries in Kendal is Kendal Industrial Estate in Kaliwungu District and Sugar Factory in Cepiring District. The Sugar Factory in Cepiring has existed since the Dutch era.
Tourism Natural Tourism Ngebum Beach. Located In Kaliwungu Curug Sewu / Sewu Waterfall. Located in Patean Jeglong Waterfall. Located in Plantungan Cacaban Tourism Village. Located in Singorojo Sekatul Agrotourism. Located in Limbangan Muara Kencan beach. Located in Patebon Ngebruk Fruit Garden in Patean. Sendang Sikucing. Located in Rowosari Semawur Waterfall. Located in Plantungan Kiskendo Cave. Located in Singorojo Penglebur Gongso Waterfall. Located in Limbangan Selo Arjuno Hill. Located in Limbangan Tiban Island Tourism in Patebon. Gonoharjo Hot Spring. Located in Limbangan Medini Tea Plantation. Located in Limbangan Sewu Waterfall/ Curug Sewu
Religious Tourism Wali Joko's Grave. Located in Kendal Mosque Complex Wali Hadi's Grave. Located in Kendal Mosque Complex The Tomb of Prince Djoeminah. Located in Kaliwungu Tomb of Sunan Bromo. Located in Boja Kyai Asyari's Grave. Located in Kaliwungu Wali Gembyang's Grave. Located in Kendal City The Tomb of Habib Mansyur Al Munawar. Located in Kendal City
Event Kendal Expo in Kebondalem Village. Kendal City Nyadran. In Kendal Coast Syawalan. In Kaliwungu and Boja
Notable people Dr. Mirna Annisa (Regent of Kendal 2016 - 2021) Dr. Widya Kandi Susanti (Regent of Kendal 2010 - 2015) Don Murdono (Regent of Sumedang 2003 - 2013) H Tino Indra Wardono (Chairperson of Central Java KNPI) Alamuddin Dimyati Rois (Member of the House of Representatives) Achmad Rifa'i (Heroes of Struggle and Kyai). Tumenggung Bahurekso (First Regent of Kendal from 1605 to 1629) Bambang Irawan (Film Actor and Director)
Typical Culinary
Food Mangut Lele Telur Ikan Mimi (Mimi Fish Eggs) Soto Kendal Momoh Sate Bumbon (Bumbon Satay) Brongkos Bebek Ijo (Green Fried Duck) Rica Rica Menthog Pecel Kembang Turi Krupuk Petis (Crackers) Rambak (Crackers) Rambak
Drink Kopi Cacaban (Cacaban Coffee) Bir Jawa (Java Beer) Dawet Sukun Ireng
Gallery
References