Jakarta Old Town - A Timeless Heritage Site

We are not makers of history. We are made by history. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Are you bored of today's modern era places? If yes, you can visit Jakarta Old Town for a weekend getaway with family and relatives. Apart from filling your spare time and refreshing, you can also learn about history as well as various cultures and relics in this heritage site. The site contains Dutch-style structures mostly dated from the 17th century when the port city served as the Asian headquarter of VOC during the heyday of the spice trade. It spans 1.3 square kilometres within North Jakarta and West Jakarta (Kelurahan Pinangsia, Taman Sari and Kelurahan Roa Malaka, Tambora).

Historical Background

In 1526, Fatahillah, sent by Sultanate of Demak, invaded the Hindu Pajajaran's port of Sunda Kelapa, after which he renamed it Jayakarta. This town was only 15 hectares in size and had a typical Javanese harbour layout. In 1619 the VOC destroyed Jayakarta under the command of Jan Pieterszoon Coen. A year later the VOC built a new town named Batavia. This city was centre around the east bank of the Ciliwung river, around present-day Fatahillah Square. Inhabitants of Batavia are called "Batavianen", later known as the Betawi people. The creole citizens are descendants of mixed various ethnicities that had inhabited Batavia.

Around 1630 the city expanded towards the west banks of the Ciliwung River, on the ruins of former Jayakarta. The city followed the design of the Dutch urban planning, complete with a fortress (Kasteel Batavia), city wall, public square, churches, canals and tree-lined streets. The planned city of Batavia was complete in 1650. It became the headquarters of the VOC in the East Indies and proceeded from the spice trade. In 1972, the Governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin, issued a decree that officially designated the Jakarta Old Town area as a heritage site.

Planning to spend the weekend travelling to Jakarta Old Town? You can check the list of must-visit places around Jakarta Old Town below.

Jakarta History Museum

Also known as Fatahilah Museum in the Jakarta Old Town area, this museum is a witness to the history of the city of Jakarta. Built in 1707 under the name Stadhuis or Municipal Hall of Batavia, this building is a place that tells the history of the city of Jakarta from before the Dutch colonial era. In this museum there is also a Jagur Cannon which is believed to increase fertility, there is also an axe that was used to quell crime and paintings from the Dutch Governor-General from 1602-1942.

Antique and original furniture that was once used by the ruling colonialists is also on display in this place. This museum has a small dark and scary dungeon that used to be a prison, where one of the Indonesian local heroes, Diponegoro, was once tied up and imprisoned in it. The museum operates from 9 am to 3 pm and is closed on Mondays. Don't forget to bring a camera when visiting this historic place to capture every corner of it.

Fatahillah Square

Fatahillah Square is the historical centre of Old Batavia. The square is located at the centre of Jakarta Old Town. For those of you who want to try riding on an ontel bicycle, Fatahillah Square is right in front of the Fatahillah Museum. Touring the Old City of Jakarta on an ontel bicycle can be an unforgettable experience.

Fatahillah Park can be said to be one of the most visited tourist attractions in the Jakarta Old Town area. It is actually the courtyard of the Fatahillah Museum. Not only can you learn history, in this park you can take pictures with your family and relatives, play with Jakarta's special toys, and do various other outdoor activities.

Jakarta Kota Station

Jakarta Kota Station is a railway station, located in the old city core of Kota, Jakarta, Indonesia. The station was named Batavia Zuid (or South Batavia) until the beginning of the 20th century. The station was also popularly known as the Beos Station as an abbreviation of the station's former owner Bataviasche Oosterspoorweg Maatschapij (BOS).

Jakarta Kota Station serves as the main station, along with Gambir Station, Jatinegara Station, and Pasar Senen Station, for several intercity train lines across Java island. This station also serves three of the six KRL Commuterline train lines, which operate in the Jakarta metropolitan area.

The design of the station by the Dutch architect Frans Johan Louwrens Ghijsels (born 8 September 1882) is a combination of Western Art Deco and local architecture styles. The inside wall of the hall is finished with rough-textured brown ceramic and the outside wall at the bottom of the whole building was covered with green-yellowish plaster. The station floor uses yellow teak and grey wood, and for the platform floor, yellow waffle teakwood is used.

Bank Indonesia Museum

Bank Indonesia Museum is a bank museum located in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was founded by Bank Indonesia and opened on 21 July 2009. The museum is housed in a heritage building in Jakarta Old Town that had been the first headquarters of the Netherlands Indies gulden (De Javasche bank), the central bank of the Dutch East Indies. The bank was nationalized as Bank Indonesia in 1953 after Indonesia gained its independence. It is located next to Bank Mandiri Museum.

There are lots of museums in the Jakarta Old Town, one of which is the Bank Indonesia Museum. To visit the Bank Indonesia Museum, you are only charged an entrance ticket of IDR 5,000.

In addition, being able to see the money exchange system and the banking in the archipelago, this tourists site also offers a distinctive colonial architecture that makes it a special site for tourists who visit it.

Bank Mandiri Museum

The building stands on 10,039 square meters of land. The previous owner of this land was Carl Schlieper, who built a large office building and a warehouse. In 1913, the land was purchased by the Factorij. At midnight of 17 December 1920, the Schlieper building caught fire. The damaged building later became the Netherlands Trading Society (Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij or NHM), also known as Factorij.

Bank Mandiri Museum is the corporate museum of the namesake Bank Mandiri, located in the old banking district of Jakarta Old Town in northern Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum is housed in the former headquarters of the Netherlands Trading Society, one of the primary ancestors of ABN AMRO. The museum operates from 9 am to 6 pm and is closed on Mondays and public holidays with 2,000 IDR for the entry ticket. It is located next to Museum Bank Indonesia, and right in front of Jakarta Kota Station.

Wayang Museum

The next heritage site is the Wayang Museum. Visiting this place, you can see various collections of puppets from different eras. There are at least 4,000 puppets that you can learn about. The Wayang Museum opens from 8 am to 5 pm and is closed every Monday.

The Wayang Museum is a museum dedicated to Javan wayang puppetry. The museum is located in Jakarta Old Town. It is one of several museums and galleries facing the Fatahillah Square, which include Jakarta History Museum, Fine Art and Ceramic Museum, and Kota Post Office art gallery.

The museum building occupies the site of a church that was built in 1640, under the name of the Old Dutch Church. In 1732, the church was renovated and the name was changed into the New Dutch Church. In 1808, an earthquake destroyed the church. Later in 1912, a building was constructed in the Neo-Renaissance style on the site, which initially functioned as a warehouse belonging to Geo Wehry & Co. In 1938, the building was renovated, following Dutch colonial architecture.

In 1957, after the independence of Indonesia, the building was transferred to the Institute of Indonesian Culture. On 23 June 1968, the DKI Jakarta Administration made the building into the Wayang Museum, the inauguration took place on 13 August 1975. The garden of the Wayang Museum, located in the former yard of the Dutch church, was the funeral site of General Governor Jan Pieterszoon Coen.

The Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics

The Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramic can be an alternative choice of the must-visit place. This museum is very interesting as other museums in the Jakarta Old Town area. Located on the opposite of the Jakarta History Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramic operates from 8 am to 3 pm. This heritage site stores various collections of ceramics and other fine arts from all over Indonesia and abroad.

The building was completely built on 12 January 1870 and was used as a court of justice. During the Japanese occupation, KNIL occupied the building. After the independence of Indonesia, it was used as the Indonesian military dormitory and as the logistic warehouse. In 1967, the West Jakarta Mayor used it as the office. Then on 20 August 1976, President Soeharto officially inaugurated the building as the Museum of Fine Art and Ceramic.

The museum displays the traditional handicraft of Indonesia. In addition, this museum has a rare collection of Indonesian maestro painters from Raden Saleh, Affandi, Basoeki Abdullah, S. Sudjojono to contemporary painters such as Dede Eri Supria and others. The museum also displays traditional ceramics from various areas of Indonesia and contemporary ceramics. There are also ceramic collections from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and Europe.

There are still various places located near the Jakarta Old Town area, but above is the list from our preference. For you who want to spend the weekend, can visit Jakarta Old Town area and learn the history of the places. Many interesting sites can arouse your sense of curiosity about the history of Jakarta. So, what are you waiting for? Book your holiday here!