Watansoppeng ([watansɔpːɛŋ]) is a town in South Sulawesi province of Indonesia and the capital of Soppeng Regency. It is situated in southern central South Sulawesi, on the western side of the Walanae River, about by air northwest of the port of Makassar.
The town is known as "Bat City" or "Gotham City" to Indonesians due to its extensive bat population. Watansoppeng is a producer of silk.
History Human civilisation in Soppeng is one of the oldest in Indonesia. Prehistoric stone artifacts have been found along the banks of the Walanae River. Two groups emerged in the area, Soppeng Riaja (West) and Soppeng Rilau (East), and the peoples were referred to as "sianre bale" in the Bugis language, which translates as "eating each other like fish".
Under King Latemmamala, the Soppeng Kingdom was established in 1261. In around 1609, Watansoppeng became Islamic, and the local Bugis peoples adopted their architecture, clothing, and marriage and funeral traditions. Soppeng was controlled by the Dutch from 1905, and today the Yuliana Villa and halfway house are a testament to their time in the area.
Charley Boorman visited Watansoppeng in 2009 as part of By Any Means 2.Right to the Edge: Sydney to Tokyo by Any Means, BBC 2, 24 October 2009.
Geography Watansoppeng is situated in southern central South Sulawesi in the southwest of Sulawesi, on the western side of the Walanae River. It is about by air northwest of the port of Makassar, and about by air southwest of Lake Tempe. The mountains to the west of the town are heavily forested.
Subdivisions The area is divided administratively into five kelurahans (village subdistricts):
Bila Lalabata Rilau Botto Lapajung Lemba
Landmarks and culture The main mosque in the town centre is the Masjid Agung Darussalem. The stadium in the town is the Stadion Haji Andi Wana.
The town is known as "Bat City" or "Gotham City" to Indonesians due to its large population of bats.
Every night, "the sight of hundreds of black flying foxes hanging from every bough of a tree is common-place".Bats - Volumes 15-16 (1997), Bat Conservation International, The University of Minnesota, p.12 The town is a producer of silk.Turner, Peter. Indonesia. United Kingdom: Lonely Planet, 1997. p.844
References
See also
List of regencies and cities of Indonesia