Jakarta History Museum - Preserving Indonesias Colonial Grandeur
The History Museum in Jakarta, also known as the Fatahillah Museum could be found in the old part of Jakarta
. The Old Town museum was first constructed in 1710, as part of a structure that would serve as Batavias city hall. The museum served as the city hall from the 1500s all the way through to the 16th century and till the countrys Independence in 1945.
The Museum is located within the premises of the Fatahillah square, which is about the largest open space that Jakarta has to offer. This square steeped in history still has reminders of the past. The fountain towards the North of the Square was the main source of water for the colonial capital.
The Jakarta History museum served as the headquarters of the Dutch Colonial government and the famed East India company. The building itself is an architectural wonder boasting of over 30 odd rooms. If nothing else a visit to view the intricate work that has gone into the building this historic attraction is definitely worth it.
A lot of history can still be found within the building and around it. For instance just below the courtyard visitors will find cells that were used during the colonial era as a place for housing prisoners or better referred to as the dungeons.
What actually add to the intrigue of the dungeons is not its steel bars but those who were placed behind the bars. In 1830 a freedom fighter and Prince by the name of Diponegoro who was deceitfully taken prisoner was kept here before being banished to the North of the country.
Fatahillah Square where the museum is located was declared a cultural heritage; this title is what set the pace for the developing of a historical area to be preserved in the city of Jakarta. It was in 1974 that the Jakarta History Museum was inaugurated. Ever since that day it has become the centre for the preservation, research and collection of all historic works that are part of the countrys cultural heritage.
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