Ambarawa is a town and an administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

(''kecamatan'') of the

Semarang Regency Semarang is a landlocked Regencies of Indonesia, regency () in Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,019.27 km2 and had a population of 930,727 at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,053,094 at the ...

, located between the cities of

Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...

and

Salatiga Salatiga () is a Cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java province, Indonesia. It covers an area of and had a population of 192,322 at the 2020 Indonesian census, 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at m ...

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

Province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Administratively, it is bordered by the districts of Banyubiru to the south, Jambu to the west, Bandungan to the north, and Bawen to the east. During colonial times, Ambarawa was an important railway hub connecting through regions in Java as far as Yogyakarta and Magelang. The

-Ambarawa-

Magelang Magelang () is one of six cities in Central Java, the Central Java Province of Indonesia that are administratively independent of the regencies in which they lie geographically. Each of these cities is governed by a mayor rather than a Subdivi ...

line was fully operational until 1977. It is the site of the Indonesian Railway Museum (''Museum Kereta Api Ambarawa''), which features a section of

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

between Ambarawa to Bedono on the former Ambarawa-Magelang mainline. The 19th-century Fort Willem I penitentiary complex and military barrack is also located in Ambarawa.

Japanese internment camps

Ambarawa was the site of Japanese internment camps where up to 15,000 Europeans had been held during the Japanese occupation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Following Japanese surrender and the subsequent

proclamation of Indonesian independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence (, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 Tokyo Standard Time on Friday 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of the Indonesian Nati ...

, fighting broke out in and around Ambarawa on 20 November 1945 between British troops evacuating European internees and Indonesian Republicans. File:Ambarawa-sector 28-7-47. Het oude fort Willem I te Ambarawa, Bestanddeelnr 1681.jpg, Fort Willem I, circa 1900s-1930s File:MtUngaran Ambarawa RawaPening1 Pj DSC 1383s.JPG,

Mount Ungaran Mount Ungaran is a deeply eroded stratovolcano, located in the south of Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. There are no historical records about the mountain's activities. Two active fumarole fields are found on the southern flanks. The town of ...

and Lake Rawapening

Battle of Ambarawa

The town of Ambarawa was the site of the

Battle of Ambarawa The Semarang offensive is composite of the Battle of Ambarawa (20 October–15 December 1945; 55 days), Magelang offensive (26 October–15 December 1945; 49 days), Battle of Mount Ungaran, Ungaran or Ungaran offensive, and Semarang offensive ...

which itself was a part of the greater Indonesian War of Independence. By the end of WWII, Allied Troops were hunting down the remaining Japanese holdouts in South East Asia. British soldiers, led by Brigadier Richard Bethell, came to the city of

to disarm Japanese troops and liberate

POWs A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and their presence was initially welcomed by the Governor of Central Java

Wongsonegoro Kanjeng Raden Mas Tumenggung Wongsonegoro (20 April 1895 – 4 March 1974) was an Indonesian politician who served in various offices, including as deputy prime minister and governor of Central Java. He also served as a minister several times. ...

. However, the locals were angered by the fact that Dutch POWs were being armed and triggered actions by the

People's Security Army The People's Security Army () or commonly abbreviated as TKR is the name of the first military force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. M ...

(TKR). The Allied Troops were overrun and escaped to nearby Ambarawa. On 12 December 1945, Col. Soedirman led an assault against the Allied troops and successfully cut-off their supply chain. The battle ended on 15 December 1945, with the Indonesian Army forcing Allied Troops to retreat back to Semarang.

Tourist attractions

* Kampoeng Rawa * Indonesian Railway Museum * Fort Willem I

Notable people

Simon Sanches Simon Everhardus Hendrik Sanches (9 August 1915 – 16 August 2002) was a Dutch navy nurse and laboratory technician who planned to commit a coup d'état in Suriname on the night of 7 to 8 November 1947. The coup was betrayed, and he was sentence ...

, Dutch navy nurse and laboratory technician who planned to commit a coup d'état in Suriname.

References

External links

* *http://dppad.jatengprov.go.id/up3ad-kab-semarang/ (source of population data) {{coord, 7, 16, S, 110, 24, E, region:ID_type:city, display=title Semarang Regency Populated places in Central Java Districts of Central Java Tuntang basin