What is "alun-alun"

Alun-alun (note: correct orthography hyphenated but occurs occasionally without, also found as aloen-aloen, aloon aloon, and erroneously alon-alon) is a Javanese architectural term for the large central open lawn squares common to villages, towns and cities in Indonesia.

Commonly, alun-alun in modern-day Indonesia refers only to the two large open squares of kraton palace compounds.

Each kraton has two alun-alun: the most important and northern alun-alun lor and the less important and commonly smaller southern alun-alun kidul. The court of Pakubuwana in Surakarta is unique as it incorporates the alun-alun kidul within the defensive wall of the kraton proper.