Borobodur is one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the world dating back to the 9th Century. It is a Mahayana Buddhist stupa built in the form of a mandala representing a spiritual/cosmological journey and Buddha field. records state that it was built by the legendary Gunadharma (quality of dharma), but little in known of him. however evidence shows that there was a thriving Mahayana Buddhist culture here from the 9th to 14th century. the stupa was abandoned in the 14th century due to two possible factors. the first one being the decline of the buddhist and hindu kingdoms of central Java caused by conversion to Islam. the other being a series of large volcanic eruptions of the nearby Mt. Merapi which drove away the population. it was rediscovered in the early 1800's. 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.
