Old Town Journey

Last saturday i went to Jakarta Old Town (Kota Tua Jakarta), also known as Old Jakarta, and Old Batavia (Oud Batavia), is a small area in Jakarta, Indonesia. This special region spans 1.3 square kilometres of both North Jakarta and West Jakarta (Kelurahan Pinangsia, Taman Sari and Kelurahan Roa Malaka, Tambora).

Me and my friends went to the Jakarta History Museum, The Jakarta History Museum (Indonesian: Museum Sejarah Jakarta), which is also known as Fatahillah Museum or Batavia Museum, is located in the Old Town of Jakarta, Indonesia. The building was built in 1710 as the Stadhuis (city hall) of Batavia. Jakarta History Museum, opened in 1974, displays objects from the prehistoric times of the city, the founding of Jayakarta in 1527, and through Dutch colonization from the 16^th century onwards until Indonesia’s Independence in 1945.

Jakarta History Museum is located in the building which was the former City Hall of Batavia, known in the past as Stadhuis. This building was the administrative headquarters of the Dutch East India Company,^[2] and later of the Dutch Colonial Government. The current building was constructed in 1707 by the city government, replacing the former city hall built in 1627. Governor General Abraham van Riebeeck inaugurated it in 1710.

The building contains 37 ornate rooms. There are also some cells located beneath the front portico which were used as dungeons. A Javanese freedom fighter Prince Diponegoro, who was treacherously arrested, was imprisoned here in 1830 before being banished to Manado, North Sulawesi. Another freedom fighter earlier imprisoned here around 1670 was Untung Suropati from East Java.

This building is located in front of a public square, which in the past was known as Stadhuisplein, the City Hall Square. The square is now known as Fatahillah Square (Indonesian: Taman Fatahillah). In the center of the square is a fountain which was used as a water supply during colonial era. Also located in the square is a Portuguese cannon (known as Si Jagur Cannon) with a hand ornament showing a fico gesture, which is believed by local people to be able to induce fertility on women. The square was also used as the place of executions. 

In 1970, the Fatahillah Square was declared a Cultural Heritage.This effort was the beginning of the development of the historical area of the City of Jakarta, carried out by the Government of DKI Jakarta. The Jakarta History Museum was inaugurated on March 30, 1974 as the center for collection, conservation and research for all kinds of objects of cultural heritage related to the history of the City of Jakarta. The building's generous scale with massive timber beams and floorbands.

You can pay for the ticket only 2000 IDR for adult, 1000 IDR for college student and 700 IDR for student. Operating Hours : Tues-Thurs and Sun 9am to 3pm, Fri 2:30-5pm, and Sat 9am-12:30pm

Another Museum that we visited is The Fine Art and Ceramic Museum (Indonesian: Museum Seni Rupa dan Keramik is a museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum is dedicated especially to the display of traditional fine art and ceramics of Indonesia. 

The building of the Fine Art and Ceramic Museum was completed on January 12, 1870, and was used as the Court of Justice (Dutch: de Raad van Justitie). The building was known as Paleis van Justitie. During the Japanese occupation, the building was used by KNIL and later after the independence of Indonesia, was used as the Indonesian military dormitory and as the logistic warehouse. In 1967, the building was used as the West Jakarta Mayor Office. In 1974, the building was used as an office for the Jakarta Museum and History Department. The building was officially inaugurated as the Fine Art and Ceramic museum by president Soeharto on August 20, 1976.

The ticket fare for this museum is same with Jakarta History Museum. Inside the Museum you can see a lot of art things, like Painting, and Ceramic collection from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Europe.

The next stop is Bank Indonesia Museum, Bank Indonesia Museum is located in the Jakarta old city, in front of the Beos Kota rail station, right next to the Bank Mandiri museum. This museum originally was a hospital Binnen Hospitaal, and then used as a bank that is De Javashe Bank (DJB) in the year 1828. Then, after the independence in 1953, this bank become to a central bank of Indonesia or Bank Indonesia. But not long, the year 1962, Bank Indonesia’s move to new building. Building is left empty, but the BI board of governors appreciate the historical value of building, then they take care Museum Bank Indonesia as a heritage. This museum was inaugurated on 15 December 2006 by Bank Indonesia governor, Burhanuddin Abdullah.

From the outside, this building looks strong, and well maintained. Parking lot is spacious. White color make this building more elegant. Entering the building, we can not feel atmosphere of old building. Automatic doors made of glass will welcome the guests who came. Then we can see a metal detector scanner and security guard. Very secure for a museum. The lobby looks so luxurious and comfort even in the hot & shinny day, because this building was air conditioned. So cool…

 

We will see a museum with modern design, so different with other museum in Indonesia. All were well build design. There are settings about the dock in old Batavia style, and also setting about a Dutch customer who go to the bank to deposit money. Here we can see the history of Bank Indonesia and also the function of Bank Indonesia. There is also a encyclopedia about banks that are given the title “Yang Seru Yang Lucu” (The Wacky Fun Stuff), it tell us about idiom in banking and where it come from, with funny style. 

After that we will see a safe-deposit box room, its door made of steel, similar to those in the Bank Mandiri Museum, but the room inside at Bank Indonesia Museum is smaller. Inside the room we can found numismatic collection with historical information to provide a means of exchange trade of Indonesia. All was displayed neatly, complete with magnifier so visitors can see the money collection in detail. We will find a guide inside the room ready to answer any question from visitors.

Very good museum, we highly recommend you to visit this museum. This place is very tidy, comfort, well maintained, with clean bathroom, and also free of charge. Very nice job..

Museum Bank Indonesia
Pintu Besar Utara No. 3 Jakarta Barat
Phone : (021) 2600158 Ext 8111, 8102, 8100
Operating hours :
* Tuesday – Thrusday : 8.30 am – 2.30 pm
* Friday : 8.30 am – 11 am
* Saturday – Sunday : 9 am – 4 pm
* Monday & holiday : Closed
Entrance fee : FREE OF CHARGE