Later, when the kings moved their courts to East Java under the rule of Majapahit, this area was more or less deserted and the temple buildings collapsed, helped by several large earthquakes and plundering of stones. A large restoration project was started in 1937 and completed in 1953.

The main temple in the Prambanan complex is Candi Shiva Mahadeva, also known as Loro Jonggrang, which means "the slim virgin". According to legends there was once a princess called Loro Jonggrang who promised a man that if he could build her a temple in only one night he would be allowed to marry her. He actually built the temple on time, but the princess announced the dawn much to early. The man became so angry because of this that he turned the princess into stone, and the statue inside this large temple is supposedly the princess herself.

Close to Candi Shiva Mahadeva stands the Candi Brahma and Candi Vishnu temples, in total the central temple group consists of eight large and eight smaller temples. In addition Prambanan consists of more than 240 small temples inside a radius of five km from the main complex. Prambanan is less famous than Borobodur, but many think of this monument as comparable or even more impressive. Most visitors come here via Yogyakarta or Surakarta (Solo).