Penelehhistory.com: Surabaya (28/8/24) – Prince Harya Wironegoro, husband of Crown Princess Mangkubumi, first daughter of Hamengkubuwono X with Ratu (Queen) Hemas, and Crown Princess of the Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Sultanate, visited Pius X Collage in Bladel, the Netherlands. Bladel is a municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of Noord Brabant.
This visit is part of student exchange activities with Indonesia. During the visit, the Prince accompanied a group of students from Tumbuh High School in Yogyakarta. Prince Wironegoro is the patron of the Pius. This visit is part of a larger tour, during which Germany will also be visited.
Indonesian Cultural Exhibition
The group arrived at school on Tuesday morning local time. This visit begins in one of the classrooms with the aim of getting to know the students and teacher.
This Student Exchange with Indonesia is an initiative of teacher Henny Damen. According to her, this activity is important for students to get to know other cultures better.
“It is a fact that this Prince is the patron of this school and this is very cool,” he told Omroep Brabant, a local media affiliating to NOSd Nieuws.
On that occasion, Prince Wironegoro opened an exhibition of artwork by Indonesian students at the school. He also reflected on the importance of exchange. The visit ended with a traditional Indonesian dance performance in the auditorium.
Exchange Information
The news about Prince Haryo’s visit to the school in Bladel, Netherlands, cannot be separated from information shared by a Dutch citizen who once visited Surabaya some time ago. Her name is Rozemarijn Ank, who came with her husband and two children. According to her, Bladel is near to the city where her parents live. The information shared was published by NOS Nieuws media.
“An Indonesian Prince visited a school near my parents’ place,” said Roze via her WA message.
Rozemarijn’s communication with Surabaya is due to no other historical background. Her ancestors were local Surabaya people who were buried in the Peneleh European cemetery. She feels she has ties to Surabaya. Before leaving Surabaya at that time, she said that she would keep in touch with Surabaya. This promise was realized by sharing information related to the two countries: Indonesia and the Netherlands. She knows that in Surabaya there is a joint project between Surabaya and Amsterdam called “Peneleh as a Living Library”. (nng)