Batavia.
July 10th, 1710.
One sunny day.
The Governor General of Batavia, Johan van Hoorn, just inaugurated the Stad-huis, - the City Hall, right in center of Batavia. The celebration was certainly on the agenda.
People were gathering and many cheered the newly- opened building. One grandeur architecture which was said to replicate Dam Palace in the Netherlands. Government and local officials, socialites … wrapped elegantly in their best suits and dresses to attend that celebration.
So glamorous… and everyone was in the festive mode!
Except those struggling for independence…and decent life.
Fast forward 400 years later, my kids, Bo et Obi, and I stood at Fatahillah Square.
We were visiting the very same Stad-huis.
Now, it is known as Museum Sejarah Jakarta, - the Museum of Jakarta History.
There is no better place to learn about the history of Jakarta but here.
It’s time to get to know the city we love closer.
Especially since Jakarta celebrates its birthday on June 22 and it is 493 years old this year!
Happy happy birthday to you, Jakarta!
Old Batavia.
Jayakarta
Jakarta.
Have you heard of those names of the cities before?
Some might be more familiar with the old names.
Welcome to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.
This city certainly has long and rich history, a melange of typical romantic, sad period of colonialism as well as the fierce struggle for independence. And for me, it is important to know the story of this beloved city. particularly for my kids who have limited knowledge and information about the capital city of Jakarta as we keep moving around from one country to another. So I believe it’s about time to bring the kids to a place where they can learn about the history of Jakarta in a fun way.
And the first thing that come to my mind is Museum of Jakarta History.
Museum of Jakarta History or Museum Sejarah Jakarta is also well-known as Museum Fatahillah, because it is located in Fatahillah square.
Fatahillah was the famous hero of our colonial time, being the commander of Demak Sultanate back in the 16th century and recapturing Sunda Kelapa Port from Portuguese.
I remember the last time we came here it was renovated and it did take some times until the renovation was done.
It was back in 2014, before heading to New York City.
At that time, we only visited Fatahillah Square as the museum was under renovation.
We visited this place in one lovely Saturday.
The square was packed as usual in weekend, but the museum was not that busy.
As we stepped into the Museum, I can see the major change inside after the renovation, making me proud of looking at the serious works done by the Provincial Government of Jakarta with other relevant stakeholders.
We also asked for a guide in English to help my kids learn more about what we have in this Museum.
The first part we visited was the prison.
Yup, the prison used to held inlander, us Indonesian the local people, who fought against the Dutch government at that time. As it was located in the City Hall, the prison is not to big.
Then we headed to see some original rooms from this building, where we saw some artefacts and objects from the colonial era, including paintings, furnitures, historical letters and documents and more. Such long and rich history about trade, power, lust and struggle for independence. It feels like reading the whole novel about your city’s affairs with every colonial power coming to visit and decide to stay for a while.
We saw the timeline of Jakarta, where the first Neolithic artefact was found in Condet, Pejaten, Kramat Jati and Bekasi,- all of those are areas in Jakarta and the surroundings, to the time when Portuguese came in the 16th century, followed by the Dutch not long after that. We also heard the story about VOC, Vereenigde Oost-Inische Compagnie or the United East India Company, - the trading company reigned in 1603 to 1800 in Indonesia.
We also learnt about the origin of Jakarta.
How it transformed from Sunda Kelapa, Jacarta, Jayakarta, to Jakarta now.
As we read on the information plate, Jayakarta itself means ‘the perfect victory’ and it depicted the glory of Fatahillah in winning back Sunda Kelapa from Portuguese at that time.
We also enjoyed some original furnitures and settings of the Staad-huis, with antique Indonesian-style furnitures with European-style ones made of native woods from Indonesia. All those beautiful antiques are still in the very good state.
There are also parts when we learnt about the first encounter of civilisation in Jakarta and the surroundings, including some remnants from Tarumanegara Kingdom and some ancient inscription, like Prasasti Tugu.
Then after our long walk and visit in this museum, we had lunch outside within the museum complex and ate some traditional Jakarta food like kerak telor.
The kids loved it indeed.
So, really a lot to see and enjoy when you come down here.
When you are visiting Jakarta, make sure you don’t miss this museum.
The ticket is very affordable, around Rp 5.000,- per person (less than USD3) for Indonesian and perhaps slightly more for foreigners. We can definitely get more information from the website. Just click here.
That’s our story from our visit to Museum Sejarah Jakarta.
Will certainly share more from other fascinating places here from Jakarta.
Have you been to this museum as well?
Do you like it? What’s your favorite part?
