So, here I am, launching a project of
visiting all those 47 museums. And of course it’s not my own project. With me,
I have my sister who shares the same interest on history and a nationalist
friend who feel embarrassed by herself because she has visited many museums in
European countries but never visited any in Indonesia.
Thus, our “visit Jakarta museum” project
officially starts now.
Below are the museums I have visited so far:
Museum
Fatahillah or Museum Sejarah Jakarta
This museum is located in Kota Tua (Old City) region of Jakarta
and probably the most well known museum in Jakarta. The iconic building was
built by Netherland’s VOC in 1707 and functioned as Stadhuis (City Hall) until Japanese occupation in 1942. This building
and its plaza was infamous for the damp inhuman underground jail and the “show”
of death penalty for big name criminals, including rebels.
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| the below basement was the prison |
This is the first museum I visited in Jakarta
and since then I had returned to this building (or at least the plaza) twice.
The shape of the building, the green paint of its gigantic doors and windows,
even the plaza in front of it always fascinates me. What’s the best of this
museum is that it’s situated in the center of the Old City region. We could
find so many old buildings and historical sites around this area.
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| Hermes facing the backyard of the Museum |
Right now, this museum exhibits the history
of Jakarta, for example the furniture, Betawi cultures, replica of some
inscriptions and sculptures, and the most iconic collection: cannon named si
Jagur which is said to have extra power. The visitors could also see the
infamous basement where the prisoners were being held before they met the
hangman in the plaza. This basement is really damp and dark and scary, so I
only dared to look at a glance. The only thing that disturbs me is that this
museum is too famous in Jakarta so it’s always overcrowded with visitors,
especially on weekends.
Museum
Bank Mandiri
I visited this museum for the first time in
the same day with Museum Fatahillah. This museum is located in the Old City
region too and usually become the meeting point of history communities like
Sahabat Museum to gather before exploring the old city together because it’s
the nearest with train and bus station.
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| inside the 'bank' |
This building was relatively new compared to
Museum Fatahillah. It was built in 1929, just at the end of the Dutch era and
formerly the office of Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij (NHM). It is so huge, modernly
equipped with elevator and has a nice garden in the middle.
Bank Mandiri is the biggest national bank of
Indonesia, thus this museum’s collections are about money and bank system. Entering
the building I felt like I was in a real bank back in 1930s, with teller’s
table and bars and information boards in Dutch. I don’t know what they did back
in that year, but right now visitors are allowed to enter the other side of the
bars, where we can find an employee (statue) behind a typewriter, some huge
accounting books and old certificates. We can also venture the meeting room and
the manager’s room.
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| an old cashier machine |
Walking through the main room, there’s a door
leads to a hallway that surrounded the garden. In the wall of the hallway there
are some pictures on the construction of the building and its later history.
The other important room in this museum is a big hall for a meeting, with walls
full of residential emblems from all over Indonesia on Dutch occupancy.
Currently people often rent the room for meeting of historical or cultural
communities. And from the museums that I have visited so far, this museum is
the only one to have a gift shop (the collections are good enough, although at
that time they run out of fridge magnet).
Museum
Nasional or Museum Gajah
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| the only picture left |
People call this place as Museum Gajah
(Elephant Museum) not because the collections are based on or about elephants,
it’s solely because of an elephant statue in front of the building. The statue
was a gift from Thailand king to the Dutch government in 1871.
This museum is situated just on the west side
of Monas (Monumen Nasional) and Presidential Palace, so it’s easy to find. It
has two huge buildings, the old one from 19th century, and the new
one from 1996. Legend has it, the old building was well known as “Gedong Jodo”,
or place where younger generation of Dutch East Indies hanging out and look for
a spouse. There are a nice park and plaza between the buildings, a nice place
to hang out, even in this era of internet dating.
Entering the museum, I was startled because
the security asked me to leave my backpack. It’s a policy to prevent the
stealing of museum’s collection. I can understand if they ask everybody leave
their big bag outside. What I don’t understand is that they just refer to
backpack, any kind of backpack, even the tiny ones belong to children, while
other kind of bags even if it’s large, are allowed.
This museum exhibits collections from
pre-historic era in Indonesia. There are some fossils and posters on the
pre-historic men and their way of life. There are also a lot of ancient statues
from Buddhist and Hindu era in Indonesia. Not all of them are in good
condition; some lost their heads, some without hands. At that time I started to
understand their paranoia on backpacker thieves. The best thing in this museum
is that in the middle of the first building, there’s a small garden, in which
scatter some ancient statues. It looked like a miniature pre-historic park, a
very nice and relaxing place to rest after strolling a few hours in the museum.
Regretfully, I stupidly lost all of my
pictures from that visit, what left are just some photos of the elephant
statue.
Museum
Wayang
Museum Wayang or Puppet Museum, located in the
left side of Museum Fatahillah, was previously an old church, De Oude
Hollandsche Kerk. From outside, the museum looked so small and almost
‘swallowed’ by other buildings on both sides. Entering the museum, there’s a
narrow corridor with some big puppets from the Ramayana and Mahabarata
epic.
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| Hanuman and I |
The corridor leads us to the weirdest part of
the museum: a small open air room with some Dutch giant gravestones containing
big names in Dutch colonial era like JP. Coen. The room is dedicated to them,
whom previously buried in the old church. When the building was renovated,
their remains were transferred to other cemetery.
In the second floor, there are many kinds of
puppets from all over Indonesia, from Javanese leather puppet to Chinese puppet
along with their history and explanation. The second floor also exhibits some
paintings. Occasionally this museum hosts puppet show for public.
Unfortunately, there’s almost no publication for this kind of show so I bet
only few people attending.
Museum
Seni Rupa dan Keramik
The Museum of Fine Art and Ceramics is my
sister’s favorite, located in front of Museum Wayang, just separated by the
plaza of Museum Fatahillah. This majestic building was previously the home of
Raad van Justitie or Judge Council which also functioned as court. Until now we
can still visit the former courtroom, although it’s totally empty now without
even a single furniture.
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| the large terrace |
Behind its stout door, there is a complex of
several simple buildings with large terrace surrounding a small (but a bit abandoned)
garden. However simple, this environment makes us feels at home, just like in
our grandparents’, and that’s how my sister fell in love with it.
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| my sister and her favourite painting |
The collections are exhibited inside those
simple building. There are ceramics from so many places and eras, from
Majapahit ceramics to Dutch and Chinese ceramics from Ming Dinasty. Despite of
the massive collection of ceramics, we spent our time there mostly on the
painting section, where my sister was charmed by some nude paintings and even
asked me to take some pictures of her with those paintings. I was not sure we
are allowed to use blitz, so her pictures are blur and she said “yeah.. well…”
which means she disappointed.
Museum
Bahari
Consistent with the name, the Maritime Museum
is located in the sea side, a few hundred meters from Sunda Kelapa Port, the
port where the Dutch, British and Portuguese colonists first set foot in the
land of Java. First built in 1718 by the VOC, this magnificent building was
formerly a warehouse to store VOC marketable goods.
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| a broken boat, victim of the annual flood |
Due to its former function, this museum
complex consists of some large buildings, in which displayed many kinds of
boats from all over Indonesia. As a maritime country, Indonesia has fascinating
amount of traditional boats. Of course the ones displayed here are the small ones;
bigger ships like the Bugis’ Phinisi are in miniature.
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| minuature of phinisi |
Besides the boats, this museum also exhibits
some equipments related to maritime world, like anchors and navigational
devices. There are also some posters on maritime history in Indonesia,
including foreign vessels that visited this country. I think this museum is so
important to remind us on how great Indonesia was in the maritime world, our
technology was so advanced, and the ancestors had sailed across the ocean to
other continents. Definitely this is my husband’s favourite museum!
Museum
Joang ‘45
Since 2010, I pass by this museum almost
every day, but only had a chance for a real visit on August 2012, and the
timing couldn’t be more perfect. August 17, 1945 was the independence day of
the Republic of Indonesia. And this museum was one of the witnesses of the struggling
for Indonesian freedom.
This place was built by VOC in 1936 and
served as a hotel for Dutch high rank officials, before given to Indonesian youngsters
at Japanese occupancy. In their possession, this building become the
‘headquarter’ of the think tank of Indonesian independence. From here, those
youngsters approached Sukarno, Hatta and other older generation to proclaim our
independence. Without their courage, bravery and possibly stubbornness,
Indonesia would have been under occupancy of the Allies after WWII.
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| a Japanese propaganda |
Fast forward 67 years, this museum exhibits the
collection from the Indonesian youngsters era, especially at Japanese
occupancy. The collection including some books that affecting their way of
thinking, the meeting room, posters and pictures of Japanese propaganda, and a
replica of the first Indonesian flag which no longer red and white. Other
interesting collections are RI-1 and RI-2 or the first Presidential and
Vice-presidential car. There are also some torso statues of the youngsters,
whom unfortunately unfamiliar to younger generation like me and my friend. But
indeed, visiting this museum has opened our eyes to the power of the young
generation in steering and deciding the fate of our country.
Museum
Perumusan Naskah Proklamasi
Apparently, this place was the continuation
of Museum Joang ’45. This museum was located in the elite area of Menteng,
formerly the house of Maeda, a Japanese Admiral. The interior and the furniture
of this house is still exactly the same with that fateful night of August 16th,
1945.
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| the discussion between Sukarno, Hatta & Ahmad Subardjo |
At that night, after those youngsters
convinced the older generation on the importance of proclaiming Indonesian
independence, the leaders of the revolution Sukarno, Hatta and Ahmad Subardjo,
went to Maeda’s house in search for support from one of Japanese highest
official and the safest place to plan the step by step of the proclamation.
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| the type proclamation text |
At the dawn of August 17th, 1945
in this house the text of Indonesian independence proclamation was drawn by
those three leaders before presented in front of the youngsters and other older
generation. The final text then typed by Sayuti Melik, one of the youngster.
And at 10 am, this proclamation of independence was read by Sukarno in front of
his house, just a few blocks from Maeda’s.
All these moments are depicted clearly in the
rooms of the museum. It was dark when we visit this place, in fasting month
just like 67 years ago. And I could feel the spirits of those younger and older
generations surrounding this place. Makes us feel lucky and thankful for their
spirit and courage, now that we enjoy this almost unlimited freedom.
Museum
Prasasti
Ok, this is the last museum and creepiest one
that I have ever visited. Maybe because it was and still is a cemetery. This
museum was formerly a Kerkhoof or Dutch cemetery, located near Krukut River in
the Tanah Abang region.
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| intuentes exidum imitamini fidem |
Right now, in this outdoor museum there are
tens (or maybe hundreds) of giant, artistic and interesting gravestones. Almost
all of them are belong to Dutch and European, although I found some Americans
and Japanese. The gravestones are not only in the ordinary square form, there
are some sculptures of the weeping wife and some form of angels.
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| my sister and the cathedral-like gravestone |
Some interesting collections that I found
here are the gravestone of Raffles’ wife (the graving is almost unreadable), a
grave with some latin and symbols, Capitan Jas’ gravestone (legend has it, the
Capitan is not a real person, it’s just a legend itself), a cathedral shaped
gravestone, and the monument of Pieter Eberveld (supporter of Indonesian people
which was dubbed as a traitor by the Dutch government. This monument was meant to
be a warning for those who tried to protect Indonesian).
It was a totally hot morning when my sister
and I visited this Museum. Despite of the abundance sunshine and the presence other
visitors, the creepy feeling just wouldn’t go away, so we decided not to stay
longer in this museum.
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