Batu, officially the City of Batu (, ), is a city in the East Java Province of Indonesia. It is about 20 km to the northwest of Malang. Formerly, it was a part of Malang Regency; but in June 2001, Batu became an independent city (by Act No. 11 of 2001), with its own mayor and council.

With a population of 213,046 people at the 2020 Census, which rose to 225,408 as officially estimated as of mid-2024 (comprising 113,186 males and 112,222 females), Batu lies on the southern slopes of Mount Arjuno-Welirang. Its population largely consists of Javanese. The town used to be a recreation place for the Dutch colonial officers in the Dutch colonial area (before 1945). Batu means "rock" in Indonesian.

History

Since the 10th century, the area of Batu and its surroundings has been known as a resting place for the royal family, because the region is a mountainous area with comfortable air, also supported by the beauty of natural scenery as a characteristic of mountainous regions.

During the reign of the Mataram Kingdom under King Sindok, a royal official named Mpu Supo was ordered by the King to build a royal family resting place in the mountains with nearby water springs. With a hard effort, finally Mpu Supo discovered an area that is now better known as the tourist area of Songgoriti. With the approval of King Sindok, Mpu Supo began to build the Songgoriti area as a royal family retreat and built a temple named Supo Temple.

In the 19th century, the Dutch East Indies government developed Batu as a mountain resort. Villas and resort facilities were built in Batu during the period. Most of the topography of Batu City is dominated by highland and hilly terrain with valleys running down mountain slopes. In northern Batu, there is a dense forest, Raden Soerjo Forest Park, which is a protected forest area.

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Administration

The city is divided into three districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census, The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the numbers of administrative villages (urban kelurahan) in each district, and its postal codes.

{| class="sortable wikitable"

|-

! Kode <br>Wilayah|| Name of<br />District<br />(kecamatan) ||Area <br />in <br />km<sup>2</sup>|| Pop'n<br />Census<br />2010|| Pop'n<br />Census<br />2020|| Pop'n<br />Estimate<br />mid 2024||Admin<br />centre||No.<br />of<br />villages||Post<br /> codes

|-

| 35.79.01 || Batu (district) ||align="right"|43.43||align="right"|88,178||align="right"|96,921||align="right"|102,698||Sisir||align="center"|8||65311 - 65318

|-

| 35,79.03 || Junrejo ||align="right"|30.68||align="right"|46,382||align="right"|55,105||align="right"|57,991||Junrejo||align="center"|7||65321 - 65327

|-

| 35.79.02 || Bumiaji ||align="right"|120.06||align="right"|55,624||align="right"|61,020||align="right"|64,719||Punten||align="center"|9||65331 - 65338

|-

| || Totals ||align="right"|194.17||align="right"|190,184||align="right"|213,046||align="right"|225,408||Pesanggrahan||align="center"|24||

|}

The districts are further subdivided into 24 urban villages (kelurahan). The names of the urban villages are:

;Batu District

  1. Ngaglik
  2. Oro-Oro Ombo (Rombo)
  3. Pesanggrahan
  4. Sidomulyo
  5. Sisir
  6. Songgokerto
  7. Sumberejo
  8. Temas

;Bumiaji district

  1. Bulukerto
  2. Bumiaji
  3. Giripurno
  4. Gunungsari
  5. Pandanrejo
  6. Punten
  7. Sumberbrantas
  8. Sumbergondo
  9. Tulungrejo

;Junrejo district

  1. Beji
  2. Dadaprejo
  3. Junrejo
  4. Mojorejo
  5. Pendem
  6. Tlekung
  7. Torongrejo

Government

Mayor

The Mayor of Batu is the highest-ranking official within the Batu City government. He reports to the Governor of East Java. The current mayor or regional head of Batu City is Nurochman, with Heli Suyanto as vice mayor. They took office on 20 February 2025.

Economy

thumb|220px|Batu city hall

The economy of Batu City is highly dependent on tourism and agriculture. The location of Batu City in the mountainous region has inspired rapid tourism development which sector has created most of the GDP growth in Batu. In agriculture, Batu is one of the largest apple-producing regions in Indonesia, which makes it dubbed "The City of Apples". Apple agriculture in Batu has four varieties, there are "Manalagi", "Rome Beauty", "Anna", and "Wangling". The city also produces a lot of vegetables, and garlic. Besides that, Batu is also an artist city where there are many painting and art galleries.

Batu has several shopping centers ranging from modern shopping centers to traditional markets. Among the most famous modern shopping centers are Lippo Plaza Batu and Plaza Batu, while the famous traditional market in Batu is Pasar Batu. In addition, there is also a floating market in Batu called the Nusantara Floating Market which is the first floating market in East Java. The Nusantara Floating Market Complex is a unit of the Museum Angkut tourism complex in Batu.