Gresik Regency facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gresik Regency Kabupaten Gresik
Regency
Regional transcription(s)
• Javanese	ꦒꦽꦱꦶꦏ꧀
• Pegon	ڮرٓسيك‎
Port of Petrokimia Gresik and Gresik settlements
Seal
Motto(s):  Satya Bina Kertaharja (Firm on building the well-being) Gresik Berhias Iman (government brands)
Location within East Java
Gresik Regency Location in Java Show map of Java Gresik Regency Location in Indonesia Show map of Indonesia
Country	Indonesia
Province	East Java
Capital	Gresik
Area
• Total	1,191.26 km2 (459.95 sq mi)
Population  (mid 2023 estimate)
• Total	1,296,688
• Density	1,088.501/km2 (2,819.205/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (IWST)
Area code	(+62) 31
Website	gresikkab.go.id

Gresik Regency (also known as Grissee in older writings) is a special area in the East Java Province of Indonesia. It includes many northern and western parts of the big city of Surabaya. It also has a cool island called Bawean Island, which is about 125 kilometers north of Java and Madura. A big part of Gresik Regency, almost one-third, is along the coast.

This regency covers an area of about 1,191 square kilometers. In 2023, about 1.3 million people lived there. The main town and administrative center is Gresik, which is about 25 kilometers northwest of Surabaya. Gresik Regency is also part of a larger city area called Gerbangkertosusila, which is the metropolitan region around Surabaya.

What's in a Name?

The name Gresik comes from the words Giri Gisik. This means "mountain near the coast." It describes how the main town of Gresik has hills close to the sea. This information comes from a book called The History of Java by Stamford Raffles.

Gresik's Past: A Trading Hub

Gresik has been an important place for a very long time.

Early Trade and Islam

• Since the 11th century, Gresik was a busy international trade center.
• Traders from places like China, Arabia, and India came here.
• Gresik was also one of the first places where the religion of Islam arrived in Java.
• You can still see old Islamic tombs here, like those of Sheikh Maulana Malik Ibrahim and Fatimah bint Maimun.

A Key Port City

• By the 14th century, Gresik was a major port and trading city.
• Ships traveling from Maluku to Sumatra and even to places like India and Persia would stop here.
• This continued even when the VOC was active in the area.
• In 1487, a leader named Sunan Giri (also called Sultan Ainul Yaqin) started to rule Gresik.
• A Portuguese traveler named Tomé Pires wrote in 1515 that Gresik was "the jewel of Java in trading ports."
• Sunan Giri's family ruled Gresik for the next 200 years.

Becoming a Regency

• At first, the Gresik area was part of the Surabaya Regency.
• But on November 1, 1974, the government decided to make Gresik its own regency.
• All government activities slowly moved to Gresik town.
• In the same year, Gresik became part of the Gerbangkertosusila Metropolitan Area. This means it's now a suburb of Surabaya.

Gresik Today

• Gresik town is famous for its many coffee shops, which locals call warkop.
• In 2002, a soccer team from Gresik, Petrokimia Putra, even won a national league title!

How Gresik is Managed

Gresik Regency is divided into eighteen smaller areas called districts (kecamatan). Each district has several villages. There are 329 rural villages (desa) and 27 urban villages (kelurahan) in total.

The districts of Sangkapura and Tambak make up the island of Pulau Bawean. This island is north of Madura but is part of Gresik Regency.

Industries in Gresik

Gresik is home to many factories. A lot of these businesses help with farming and making farm machines. There are also many small businesses run from homes, making things like traditional caps (called songkoks) and bags.

Two of the biggest factories in Gresik are:

• Semen Gresik: This is the largest cement factory in Indonesia. It provides almost half of all the cement used in the country!
• Petrokimia Gresik: This factory makes many different kinds of fertilizers. It supplies half of Indonesia's subsidized fertilizers.

Gresik's Weather

Gresik has a warm climate.

• The air usually feels quite humid, ranging from 44% to 88% humidity.
• Winds are generally light, blowing between 0 and 18 kilometers per hour.
• The temperature in Gresik is usually between 23°C and 35°C. The average temperature is about 28.5°C.