Merdeka Palace, Presidential palace at Medan Merdeka Utara Street, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Merdeka Palace is a Neo-Palladian building designed by Jacobus Bartholomeus Drossaers, completed in 1879 on the south lawn of the Rijswijk Palace grounds facing Merdeka Square. It covers about 2,400 m² and forms part of the 6.8 ha Jakarta Presidential Palace Complex with the State Palace, Wisma Negara, State Secretariat and Bina Graha. A 17 m flagpole and a fountain stand on its front lawn.
The palace was built in 1879 during Dutch colonial rule and originally served as the Governor-General's residence. After independence in 1945, it was transformed into the seat of the Indonesian presidency.
The palace's octagonal gazebo in the courtyard once served Dutch officials as a muziekkoepel, a music gazebo for performances during formal balls; it later became a private school for Sukarno's children and the children of palace staff. Inside, Sukarno's bedroom was converted into the Ruang Bendera Pusaka, the Regalia Room, while the Jepara Room keeps Suharto-era carved furniture.
The palace holds monthly guard changing ceremonies that typically occur on the last Sunday and can be watched from outside. Visits to the interior require advance permission since the building remains an active government workplace.
The 17-metre flagpole on the front lawn is not the one from 1949: the flag-raising that gave the palace its name took place in the palace courtyard, and the Dutch flag came down there on 27 December 1949. The gazebo in the courtyard, now a small octagonal structure, served Dutch officials as a muziekkoepel for music at formal balls, and later as a private school for Sukarno's children and the staff's.
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