Dutch architecture in Semarang
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During the colonial period many significant examples of Dutch architecture were built in Semarang, Indonesia. Control of Semarang was given to the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC) as a part of a debt payment by Sunan
Amangkurat II Amangkurat II (also known as Rahmat; died 1703) was the ''susuhunan'' of the Sultanate of Mataram from 1677 to 1703. Prior to taking the throne, he was the crown prince and had the title Pangeran Adipati Anom. He was the first Javanese monarch ...
in 1678 and established as area in 1682 Dutch. On 5 October 1705, Semarang officially became a VOC city when Susuhunan
Pakubuwono I Pakubuwono I (also as Pakubuwana I, before his reign was known as Pangeran Puger), uncle of Amangkurat III of Mataram was a combatant for the succession of the Mataram dynasty, both as a co-belligerent during the Trunajaya rebellion (from 1677 t ...
made a deal to give extensive trade rights to the VOC in exchange for wiping out Mataram's debt. The VOC, and later, the Dutch East Indies government, established
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre. The presence of a Dutch based creole in the area is due to the fact that creole mix language called Javindo that developed. The
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
military occupied the city, along with the rest of Java, in 1942, during the Pacific War of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. After
Indonesian independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...
in 1945, Semarang became the capital of Central Java province.


City planning of Semarang during Dutch colonial era


The era of Classical Indische Town (1678–1870)

The city included a Muslim area called ''Kauman'', a Chinese quarter, and a Dutch fortress. The fortress had a pentagonal form with only one gate in the south and five monitoring towers to protect the Dutch settlement from rebellion actions, segregating the spaces between Dutch settlement and other areas. The Dutch quarter was considered the city of Semarang by the Dutch while the other ethnic settlements were considered as villages outside the city boundary. Known as de Europeeshe Buurt, Semarang was built in classical European style with a church located in the centre, wide boulevards and streets skirted by beautiful villas.Pratiwo. (2005). The City Planning of Semarang 1900–1970. In F. Colombijn, M. Barwegen, P. Basundoro & J. A. Khusyairi (Eds.), Old City, New City: The History of the Indonesian City Before and After Independence. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Ombak. According to Purwanto (2005), the urban and architectural form of this settlement is very similar to the design principles applied in many Dutch cities and consideration of urban beautification. Due to the long and costly Java War, there was not much of funding from the Dutch East Indies government for the development of Semarang. The majority of land was used for rice fields and the only small improvements were made around the fortress. Although less populous than Jakarta and Surabaya, Semarang is a planned city with urban activities concentrated along the river. The settlement was linked to a market where different ethnic groups met to trade. The existence of the market, in the later years, become a primary element and a generator of urban economic growth.Nas, P. J. M., & Pratiwo. (2002). Java and De Groote Postweg, La Grande Route, the Great Mail Road, Jalan Raya Pos’. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde, 158(4), 707–725. An important influence on urban growth was the Great Mail Road project in 1847, which connected all the cities in northern coast of Central and East Java and made Semarang the trade centre of agricultural production.Colombijn, F. (2002). Introduction; On the road. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde, 158(4), 595-617. The project was soon followed by the development of the Netherlands Indies Railway and the connecting roads into the inner city of Semarang at the end of 19th century. Colombijn (2002) This marked the development as the shift of urban functions, from the former river orientation to facing the roads.


The growth of the modern city (1870–1922)

The Dutch East Indies' mail and railway projects improved communication and transportation, bringing an economic boom to the city in the 1870s. Hospitals, churches, hotels, and mansions were built along the new main roads of Mataram Street, Bojongscheweg, and Pontjolscheweg. The Javanese quarters of town known as kampongs grew increasingly densely populated, reaching as many as 1000 inhabitants per
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...
and degrading living conditions.. Mortality remained high into the early 20th century, with newcomers, overcrowding, and poor hygiene triggering cholera and tuberculous outbreaks..
Dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
,
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...
, and
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
were also rife.. (Dutch) The city doctor Willem T. de Vogel advocated strenuously for reducing overcrowding and improving living conditions by extending Semarang into the less malarial hill country to its south;. his fellow councilman Hendrik Tillema had campaigned on a platform of combatting malaria and joined De Vogel's scheme, broadening it into a "village improvement" ( nl, kampongverbetering) movement. Purchasing land in the heights with their own money, the two men and some friends passed it on to the city with an initial zoning plan by KPC de Bazel in 1907 but could never convince a majority of the council to support its development. Changing tack, Tillema then worked to improve the existing kampongs in the city's malarial districts by improving drainage and providing more sanitary public toilets and public housing. A decade later, the town approved
Thomas Karsten Herman Thomas Karsten (22 April 1884, Amsterdam – 1945, Cimahi) was a Dutch engineer who gave major contributions to architecture and town planning in Indonesia during Dutch colonial rule. Most significantly he integrated the practice of ...
's revised plan for the area, using it to build larger villas for the Dutch and wealthy Chinese and Javanese rather than allowing its use by the poor.. (Dutch) This area became known as Candi Baru ( nl, Nieuw Tjandi) and forms the core of the present-day Candisari District. Although it remained highly stratified by class, Candi Baru had less ethnic segregation than the older area of town and incorporated public squares, athletic facilities, and places for public bathing and washing that could be used communally.Cote, J. (2004). Colonial designs: Thomas Karsten and the planning of urban Indonesia. Imprint, 2004, 01-01. With most work remaining in the lower city and transportation slow or expensive, few of the lower classes were interested in moving to the district but it set a pattern that was followed with three more successful housing plans between 1916–1919. The population grew by 55%, adding 45,000 Javanese, 8500 Chinese, and 7000 Europeans. Karsten's approach to town planning emphasized its aesthetic, practical, and social requirements articulated in economic terms rather than purely racial ones. Driven by economic growth and spatial city planning, the city had doubled in size and expanded to the south by the 1920s, creating a nucleus of a metropolis where multi-ethnic groups lived and traded in the city. The villages in the suburbs such as Jomblang and Jatingaleh steadily became the satellite towns of Semarang, more populated with a bigger market area. Before the invasion of Japan in 1942, Semarang had already become the capital of Central Java Province, as the result of trade and industrial success and spatial planning.


Buildings

Significant buildings include: *NIS Headquarters (now
Lawang Sewu ''Lawang Sewu'' () is a former office building in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. It was a head office of the Dutch East Indies Railway Co. (Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij/NIS) and is owned by the national railway company Kereta Api ...
) * Nillmij Office Building *Villa Bodjong Gimberg *Semarang Residency House * Semarang Tawang Station *"Generaalswoning"


Gallery

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Laan naar residentiehuis Semarang TMnr 60025437.jpg, Residency House in Semarang (19th century) File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Hal met verkooploketten in het spoorwegstation Semarang Tawang TMnr 10013985.jpg, Semarang Tawang train station of the NIS File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Wachtkamer van spoorwegstation te Semarang Tawang TMnr 10013984.jpg, Waiting room of the Semarang Tawang train station File:Woonhuis - House (4440353027).jpg, "Woonhuis" designed by Edwin Landseer Lutyens File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Villa Bodjong Gimberg Semarang TMnr 10014784.jpg, Villa Bodjong Gimberg File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Semarang Midden-Java de Heerenstraat TMnr 60018406.jpg, Heerenstraat (Lords Street) File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Nieuwe huizen Semarang TMnr 10014801.jpg, Houses File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Generaalswoning Semarang Java TMnr 10017111.jpg, "Generaalswoning"


References

{{reflist Architecture in Indonesia Semarang Dutch colonial architecture in Indonesia