Heri Sisworo
Jakarta, despite being known as the biggest modern city in Indonesia, is also a city rich with history. Having different names from different eras, Jakarta has been an important point in the history of Indonesia. You can see some of the remnants of Jakarta at Kota Tua, literally means ‘Old City’.
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Kota Tua is an Old Dutch settlement area on the northern part of the city. During its heyday, this area was an important trading and government district in East Indies. Today, you can see many old Dutch-style buildings in this area. Here are some that you need to visit.
Fatahilah Museum
It is so popular due to its large front yard. In fact, when you are looking for a picture of Kota Tua on Google, most of the search result would be the picture of this museum. It used to be an important building during the colonial era, it even has dungeon jail! Today, it is a popular playground for Jakartans, especially in the afternoon.
Sunda Kelapa Harbor
This is an actual harbor with many ships docking there. During its heyday, this is a very important harbor. Ships from all over the world come to this harbor to trade. However, today, Sunda Kelapa Harbor is no longer an important port in Indonesia. However, you can still see that this port still keep its past glory.
Bank Indonesia Museum
It was originally the building of De Javasche Bank. This building has been in operation since 1828. After Indonesian Independence, this building serves as a banking museum. You can see the history of the Indonesian banking system in Indonesia since the colonial era.
Wayang Museum
This one is also a very old building. It was originally called the Hollandsche building that was built in 1640. Today, it serves as a wayang museum. Wayang is a shadow puppet play, a popular traditional show in Indonesia. In this museum, you can see not only wayang from Indonesia but also from neighboring countries.
Fine Art and Ceramic Museum
As the name suggests, you can see lots of fine art exhibition in this museum. There are at least 350 paintings at display here. You can also see more than a thousand ceramics from all over Indonesia. Moreover, this museum also has a collection of ceramics from Europe, Asia, and many more.
The Maritime Museum
Known as Museum Bahari in the local language, this place is the best destination to learn about old-time maritime technology. Located at the opposite of Sunda Kelapa harbor, it was originally a warehouse to keep the crops and commodities. The VOC (Dutch East India Company) constructed this building as their main warehouse in Batavia.
There are lots of wonderful places in Kota Tua Jakarta. Specifically, you can see the old buildings left by the colonial government here. It is also an undeniable proof that Jakarta was an important city, even during the bygone era. Next
