Jakarta History Museum, History museum in West Jakarta City, Indonesia
Jakarta History Museum is a history museum in West Jakarta, Indonesia, housed in a colonial administrative building on Taman Fatahillah square. The collection includes maps from the 16th century, ceramic finds from prehistoric periods, paintings of harbor installations, and archaeological objects from the coastal region.
The Dutch East India Company constructed the building in 1707 as a city hall and administrative seat for the colonial government. After independence, the city converted the former offices into a museum in 1974, documenting urban history.
The building preserves handcrafted furniture from the Betawi region, blending Chinese carvings with Indian inlay and Dutch silhouettes. These craft techniques show how artisans from different communities worked together on chests, cabinets, and seating for wealthy households.
The museum opens Tuesday through Sunday and sits directly on the central square of the old town, where several cultural sites stand side by side. Visitors should bring comfortable shoes, as exhibition rooms spread across multiple floors with stone surfaces.
The basement held prison cells where Prince Diponegoro was detained during his captivity before being exiled to Sulawesi. These rooms remain open to visitors today, showing the harsh conditions of detention in the 19th century.
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