Museum Fatahillah, also widely known as Museum Sejarah Jakarta (The Jakarta History Museum) or Batavia Museum, is a museum located in Kota Tua (Old Town) in Jakarta, Indonesia.
History
The building was built in 1710 as the Stadhuis (city hall) of Batavia. The building was the administrative headquarters of the Dutch East India Company, and later of the Dutch Government. The building hid notorious dungeons and filthy water prisons. Most prisoners, both Dutch rebels and Indonesian pribumi (natives) were publicly flogged, barbarically impaled and executed on the square called the Stadhuisplein—now known as Fatahillah Square.
Building
The architectural style of the Stadhuis of Batavia was meant as a replica of Amsterdan’s de Dam palace in smaller scale. Similarities including architectural feature of domed cupola crowning the structure.
After the declaration of Indonesia in 1945, the building was used as West Java governor office until 1961, when Jakarta was declared an independent autonomy. Afterward the building was used as governor office of DKI Jakarta. In 1970, the Fatahillah Square was declared a Cultural Heritage.
The Jakarta History Museum itself was inaugurated on 30 March 1974 as the center of collection, conservation and research for all kinds of objects of cultural heritage related to the history of Jakarta. The building contains 37 ornate rooms. There are also some cells located beneath the front portico which were used as dungeons, which function until 1846.
Collections
Jakarta History Museum has a collection of around 23,500 objects, some of them inherited from the Oude Bataviasche Museum (now Museum Wayang). The collection includes objects from the Dutch East Indies Company, historic maps, paintings, ceramics, furnitures, and archaeological objects from the prehistoric era such as ancient inscriptions and swords.
This museum also contains the richest collection of Betawi style furniture from the 17th to the 19th century.
The collections are divided into several rooms such as Prehistoric Jakarta room, Tarumanegara room, Jayakarta Room, Fatahillah room, Sultan Agung room, and MH Thamrin room.
In the museum, you also can see the replica of Tugu Inscription (the original being in the National Museum) from the age of Great King Purnawarman. It is also the evidence that the center of the Kingdom of Tarumanegara was located around the seaport of Tanjung Priok on the coast of Jakarta. There is also a replica of the 16th century map of the Portuguese Padrao Monument, a historical evidence of the ancient Sunda Kelapa harbor.
In the square, there is a Portuguese cannon called Meriam Si Jagur facing the statue of Hermes. The cannon is believed by local containing magic energy.
Facilities
In Museum Fatahillah, there are:
- Library, with more than 1,200 books collection. Most of the books inherited from colonial era in various languages such as Dutch, Malay, English and Arabian. The oldest collection is The Bible which is from year 1702
- Souvenir shop, where you can buy souvenirs with affordable price.
- Sinema Fatahillah (Fatahillah Cinema), which shows documenter movies from Batavia era and other popular movies.
- Exhibition and conference room with capacity up to 150 audiences
- Taman Dalam (Inner Park), a lush 1000 m2 park which is usually used for gathering, wedding ceremony, and art performance for public.
Museum Fatahillah (Museum Sejarah Jakarta)
Jalan Taman Fatahillah No 1, Jakarta 11110
Phone 021-6929101
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 3pm
Entrance fee: Rp5000 for adult, Rp2000 for kids
