Jakarta History Museum

Located in the historic Old Jakarta Kota area, Taman Fatahillah square offers three of the city's most interesting museums.

Once the heart of the colonial administration in the 18th century the square underwent a major restoration in the 1970's. A fountain in the middle of square once as the main water supply for the former colonial capital.

The Portuguese cannon on the north side of the square is reportedly an impressive font of fertility. Jakarta History Museum is the one displaying the history of the development of the City of Jakarta, both the events and the community, from the prehistory until these present days.


This museum is located in a building of cultural property which in the past known as Stadhuis, the City Hall of Batavia. As written on an inscription of the Museum collection, the building was constructed in 1707 by the city government of Batavia during the period of VOC and Governor General Abraham van Riebeeck inaugurated it in 1710. This building is located in front of a park, which in the past was known as Stadhuisplein, the City Hall Park, and now it is called Taman Fatahillah.

Since 1970, the surroundings of Taman Fatahillah have been declared as Cultural Property and it was totally preserved. 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 Museum of History of Jakarta was inaugurated on 30 March 1974 for being the center for collection, conservation and research for all kinds of objects of cultural property related to the history of the City of Jakarta and at the same time becomes a center for education, study and recreation for the community. Due the very long course of the history of Jakarta, the collection of this Museum are highly varied in shape and consist of objects being the heritage of the prehistorical period until the beginning of the 20th century.

There are another replicas of the Tugu Inscription from the age of Great King Purnawarman, forming evidence that the center of the Kingdom of Tarumanegara was located in around the seaport of Tanjung Priok. Further, a map of the 16th century and the replica of the Padrao monument of the Portuguese represent the historical evidence of the age of Sunda Kelapa Harbor.

The period of Jayakarta is the beginning of the establishment of the City bronze cannon and through various drawings and maps of the 17th century. Furniture collection of Betawi style from the 17th, 18th and 19th century is the richest collection and belongs to the most complete one in the world. This collection is very interesting since the association reflects of the community of Batavia City with various cultural elements from Europe, especially Dutch, China, India and Indonesia.

Borobudur, Location

Approximately 40 kilometers (25 mi) northwest of Yogyakarta , Borobudur is located in an elevated area between two twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi , and two rivers, the Progo and the Elo. According to local myth, the area known as Kedu Plain is a Javanese 'sacred' place and has been dubbed 'the garden of Java' due to its high agricultural fertility. Besides Borobudur, there are other Buddhist and Hindu temples in the area, including the Prambanan temples compound . During the restoration in the early 1900s, it was discovered that three Buddhist temples in the region, Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut , are lined in one straight line position. It might be accidental, but the temples' alignment is in conjunction with a native folk tale that a long time ago, there was a brick-paved road from Borobudur to Mendut with walls on both sides. The three temples (Borobudur–Pawon–Mendut) have similar architecture and ornamentation derived from the same time period, which suggests that ritual relationship between the three temples, in order to have formed a sacred unity, must have existed, although exact ritual process is yet unknown.

Unlike other temples, which were built on a flat surface, Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill, 265 m (869 ft) above sea level and 15 m (49 ft) above the floor of the dried-out paleolake. The lake's existence was the subject of intense discussion among archaeologists in the twentieth century; Borobudur was thought to have been built on a lake shore or even floated on a lake. In 1931, a Dutch artist and a scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W.O.J Nieuwenkamp, developed a theory that Kedu Plain was once a lake and Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake. Lotus flowers are found in almost every Buddhist work of art, often serving as a throne for buddhas and base for stupas. The architecture of Borobudur itself suggests a lotus depiction, in which Buddha postures in Borobudur symbolize the Lotus Sutra, mostly found in many Mahayana Buddhism (a school of Buddhism widely spread in the east Asia region) texts. Three circular platforms on the top are also thought to represent a lotus leaf. Nieuwenkamp's theory, however, was contested by many archaeologists because the natural environment surrounding the monument is a dry land.

Geologists, on the other hand, support Nieuwenkamp's view, pointing out clay sediments found near the site. A study of stratigraphy , sediment and pollen samples conducted in 2000 supports the existence of a paleolake environment near Borobudur, which tends to confirm Nieuwenkamp's theory. The lake area fluctuated with time and the study also proves that Borobudur was near the lake shore circa thirteenth and fourteenth century. River flows and volcanic activities shape the surrounding landscape, including the lake. One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Mount Merapi, is in the direct vicinity of Borobudur and has been very active since the Pleistocene.

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Budha statues .A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Budhha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage . The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumbulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). During the journey the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades .

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam . Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Stamford, the then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian goverment and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site .Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction .

My Country, Indonesia

Dear all my friends in the world....

I am Indonesian girl. 100% Indonesian.

Have you ever heard about Indonesia?
Indonesia is an island country. We have more than 13.000 island. we have tropic climate, so we have only two seasons. Summer and rainy. We also have snow, but not in all of our country, only in some place. One of the place in our country that has snow is Papua. The snow fall down in Jayawijaya Mountain. It's the highest mountain in Indonesia.

Indonesia has so many art and culture. Can you imagine, we have 33 provinces and every provinces has their own culture. The culture in Bali of course not same as in the Sumatera or Sulawesi. So, i hope u can imagine, how rich we are.

We have a lot of mountain, many beach, and a lot of natural resource.

Jakarta is our capital. In this city i live in.

Ok, for the first, i think it's enough as a begining. i will continue to write about many city in Indonesia. i wish you will enjoy it.

By the way, if u interested of my story, or if you interested to come to Indonesia, you're very welcome. I don't mind to help you to get the information about Indonesia. All of you want. I'll try the best. Just ask me, then i will answer..