Sulawesi is an island that has natural resources and tourist beauty. Behind its stunning natural beauty, it turns out that the largest fortress in the universe is hidden. Yes, the name is Fort Keraton Buton or commonly known as Fort Wolio. Located in Bau-bau City, Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi.

The Buton Palace Fort is located on Wolio Hill as high as 100 meters above sea level. This is a strategic location to monitor the situation of the city of Bau-bau and the Buton Strait. Not only that, you can also see the beauty of the city of Bau-bau through this fort. No wonder this island is one of the tourist destinations that is often visited by local and foreign tourists.

The Uniqueness of Buton Palace Fort

The fort, which covers an area of ​​23,375 ha and a wall length of 2,740 meters, was built with a unique fort architecture pattern. Because of the vastness of the Buton Palace Fort, the Indonesian World Record Museum (MURI) together with the Guinness Book of World Records in September 2006 named Fort Wolio as the largest defense building in the world.

This historic place has a height of between 1 meter to 8 meters with a wall thickness of between 50 cm to 2 meters. This fort is made of rocks arranged according to the size of the stone fragments and on each stone is not formed a rectangle. Not only that, the Buton Palace Fort has 12 lawa or gates, 16 cannon storage areas or known as Baluara (small fort), ditches and weapons systems in the form of badili or cannons made in Portuguese and Dutch. In addition, inside the fort there are also Masigi Ogena or the Great Mosque, Kamali or known as the Sultan’s Palace, the tombs of the sultan, and high officials to the traditional Malige house.

The cannon, also known as badili, is a former weapon of the Sultanate of Buton, a legacy of the Portuguese and Dutch. While the 12 lawa according to the beliefs of the surrounding community, the number 12 is the number of holes in the human body, while the palace fortress is likened to the human body. Each lawa has a name that corresponds to the title of the person who oversees it. And each lawa has a different shape, and some are made of stone combined with wood, the top of which is used as a lookout.

History of Buton Palace Fort

If we investigate further about the Buton Palace Fort, it seems that it cannot be separated from the history of the Buton Sultanate, because this kingdom was the background for the establishment of this fort. As one of the sultanates that emerged around the 16th century in 1542, it was built by Laki Laponto who had the title Murhum or Sultan Kaimuddin. Before his reign, the Buton kingdom was known as one of the payers of tribute to the Majapahit Kingdom. After that, the fort was founded by the 4th Sultan of Buton in 1610, namely Dhayanu Ikhsanuddin alias La Elangi with the title Mobilina Pauna.

Travel Time to Wolio Fort

Apart from historical places. You can see the beautiful view of Bau-bau city from the height of the fort along the Wolio hills. So, one day is not enough to explore the Buton Palace Fort area. To get to the fort which is 3 km away, you only need about 5 minutes drive from the city center. ZA