Turn Back the Time at Museum of Jakarta History

Old Batavia. once upon a time..
It was one sunny day.
Batavia.
July 10th, 1710, that was the the date.

The Governor General of Batavia, Johan van Hoorn, just inaugurated the Stad-huis,  - the City Hall, right in center of Batavia.
People were gathering and many cheered the newly- opened building, which was said to replicate Dam Palace in the Netherlands. Government and local officials, socialites .. wrapped elegantly in their best suits and dresses to attend that celebration.
So glamorous... and everyone was in the festive mode!

Except those struggling for independence...and decent life.

Fast forward 400 years later, my kids and I stood at Fatahillah Square.
We were visiting the very same Stad-huis ..or now known as Museum Sejarah Jakarta, - the Museum of Jakarta History.
It's time to get to know the we love closer.

The Stad-huis was built in 1707 and inaugurated in 1710


Old Batavia.
Jayakarta
Jakarta.

Have you heard of those names of the cities before?

Welcome to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia.
This city certainly has long and rich history, a melange of typical romantic, sad period of colonialism as well as the fierce struggle for independence. And for me, it is important to know the story of this beloved city. particularly for my kids who have limited knowledge and information about Jakarta as we keep moving around from one country to another. So I believe it's about time to bring the kids to a place where they can learn about the history of Jakarta in a fun way.

And the first thing that come to my mind is Museum of Jakarta History. 


Welcome to Museum Sejarah Jakarta

Museum of Jakarta History or Museum Sejarah Jakarta is also well-known as Museum Fatahillah, because it is located in Fatahillah square.
Fatahillah was the famous hero of our colonial time, being the commander of Demak Sultanate back in the 16th century and recapturing Sunda Kelapa Port from Portuguese.


The statue of Hermes, seen from behind

We visited this place in one lovely Saturday.
The last time we went to this very place was in 2014, before heading to New York City.
At that time, we only visited Fatahillah Square as the museum was under renovation.
As we stepped into the Museum, I can see the major change inside, making me proud of looking at the serious works done by the Provincial Government of Jakarta with other relevant stakeholders.
We also asked for a guide in English to help my kids learn more about what we have in this Museum.


what's left from the prison

The first part we visited was the prison. 
Yup, the prison used to held inlander, us Indonesian the local people, who fought against the Dutch government at that time. As it was located in the City Hall, the prison is not to big.

Then we headed to see some original rooms from this building, where we saw some artefacts and objects from the colonial era, including paintings, furnitures, historical letters and documents and more. 


Can you guess who he was?

Such  long and rich history about trade, power, lust and struggle for independence. It feels like reading the whole novel about your city's affairs with every colonial power coming to visit and decide to stay for a while.


one of VOC's ships 
We saw the timeline of Jakarta, where the first Neolithic artefact was found in Condet, Pejaten, Kramat Jati and Bekasi,- all of those are areas in Jakarta and the surroundings, to the time when Portuguese came in the 16th century, followed by the Dutch not long after that. We also heard the story about VOC, Vereenigde Oost-Inische Compagnie or the United East India Company, - the trading company reigned in 1603 to 1800 in Indonesia. 

We also learnt about the origin of Jakarta.
How it transformed from Sunda Kelapa, Jacarta, Jayakarta, to Jakarta now.
Jayakarta itself means 'the perfect victory' and it depicted the glory of Fatahillah in winning back Sunda Kelapa from Portuguese at that time.

We also enjoyed some original furnitures and settings of the Staad-huis, with antique Indonesian-style furnitures with European-style ones made of native woods from Indonesia.  All those beautiful antiques are still in the very good state.

The original part of the Building




Obi standing in front of an ornate room divider made of track wood

Chair made of Jati - teak wood - and rattan

There are also parts when we learnt about the first encounter of civilisation in Jakarta and the surroundings, including some remnants from Tarumanegara Kingdom and some ancient inscription, like Prasasti Tugu.


replica of Tugu Inscription

Then after our long walk and visit in this museum, we had lunch outside within the museum complex and ate some traditional Jakarta food like kerak telor.
The kids loved it indeed.
kerak telor time!

Kerak tenor..bon appetit!

So,  really a lot to see and enjoy when you come down here.
When you are visiting Jakarta, make sure you don't miss this museum.
The ticket is very affordable, around Rp 5.000,- per person (less than USD3) for Indonesian and perhaps slightly more for foreigners. (sorry I forgot to ask).


the four of us 

The Museum of Jakarta History is located at Jl. Taman Fatahaillah no. 1, Jakarta Barat, Jakarta, 11110.

To know exactly where the museum is, check out this map from Google.



That's our story from our visit to Museum Sejarah Jakarta.
Will certainly share more from other fascinating places here from Jakarta.

Have you been to this museum as well?
Do you like it? What's your favorite part? 



51 comments:

  1. What a lovely way to spend the day learning about Jakarta's rich history. $3 is quite a bargain, it seems!

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  2. Akses ke museum sejarah Jakarta sangat mudah dijangkau apalagi bisa naik andong dan berfoto ala none zaman Belanda.

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  3. Dengan belajar ke museum sejarah jakarta maka kita banyak belajar perjuangan dan kisah dibalik sebuah sejarah

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  4. Belum pernah ke museum sejarah jakarta. Bisa jadi rekomendasi bagus buat mereka yg belum prnh ke sana, termasuk mereka para bule yg pengen tau gmn indonesia dari sejarahnya. Nice post mba 😍

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  5. Wisata murah meriah tapi penuh edukasi ke museum fatahilah ya mbak, jadi tau sejarah Jakarta juga. Meskpun panasnya minta ampun di Kota Tua tapi masih banyak pengunjung yang datang

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  6. Saya terakhir ke sana 2 apa 3 tahun lalu gitu, deh. Seingat saya waktu itu lagi direnovasi makanya gak bisa masuk. Harus balik lagi ke sana. Asik belajar sejarah langsung dari museum

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  7. Kalau baca historis Jakarta, jadi inget pelajaran SD dulu, Batavia sering banget keluar pas ujian. Museumnya bagus banget ya mbk

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  8. Entah mengapa kalo membaca blog mba indah tuh, aku jadi ikutan terbawa suasana seakan ikutan dalam cerita yang disampaikan...sangat mengalir seperti air dan jelas seperti terangnya bintang... Jakarta adalah kota kelahiran ku dan juga ibu kota negara kita, musium jakarta ini penuh dengan sejarah yang layak untuk diketahui oleh warga Jakarta khususnya

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  9. Mba beneran ini baca blog mba sekalian menambah kembali vocabulary ku hehe, memang bangsa yang besar adalah bangsa yang mengenal dan memahami sejarahnya. Btw kerak telor makanan favorit yang udah lama enggak dimakan hehe. Semoga ada kesempatan ke Jakarta lagi makan kerak telor.

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  10. I'd like to go there. I've never been. I like all the pieces you photographed. Mica is my history buff boy at our house!

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  11. Seneng banget baca tulisan di blognya mbak Indah jadi tahu sejarah Museum Fatahillah yang penuh sejarah. Bisa jadi referensi kalau aku ke Jakarta. Dan ternyata memang banyak peninggalan sejarah yang harus dilestarikan dan dipelajari serta ditunjukkan ke anak cucu kita agar mereka tahu sejarah nenek moyangnya.

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  12. Aku pernah kesini kkak sama anak anak. Plus makan kerak telor juga. Banyak banget sejarah yg akhirnya aku tahu setelah mengunjungi ini

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  13. Wah aku ke kota tua ini terakhir th 2016 sebelum brgkat merantau. Tapi sayang waktu itu dtengnya pas malem minggu krn kebetulan hotel kita deket sana. Mau balik lg besokannya eh ga jdi lupa kenapanya hehehe

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  14. Aku ke muweum fatahilah waktu masih kecil, SD kelas 1 kalau ga salah inget. Dan sampai sekarang belum pernah ke sana lagi. Kayaknya sekarang lebih bagus lagi ya mbaa..

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  15. Wah belum pernah ke Museum Fatahillah nih mbak, ternyata ada penjaranya juga toh mbak?
    Pengen ajakin anak-anak ke sana nih mbak, kalo lagi main ke Jakarta

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  16. Bunda aja yg tinggal di Jakarta blm pernah ke Museum ino sejak beberapa tahin yl direnovasi. Mf2an kl masih diberi umur panjang tahun ini ingin buat jadwal ke musrum ini. In shaa Allah.

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  17. Saya malah belum pernah masuk museum jakarta nih Mak. *tutupmuka. Tp jd banyak tau dr postingan ini. Tq Mak

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  18. Belum pernah juga jalan2 ke Museum Jakarta. Injak ibukota aja belum pernah. Duh, tapi pengen deh bisa jalan-jalan ke sana. Btw lucu ya mbak miniatur of chairnya? Saya suka liatnya walau cuma lewat foto di atas. Semoga suatu hari bisa liat langsung.

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  19. Jd keinget pengen bikin tulisan ini mbak. Aku akhir tahun kmrn jg ke sana, eh apa Januari ya, aku lupa haha. Setelah bbrp kali ke sana baru kali itu aku masuk muesum Fatahillah. Mau bikin jg ah tulisan jalan2 ke sananya:D

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  20. aku udah lama gak main ke museum Fatahillah. Tahun lalu ke sana ternyata udah ganti nama dan di dalamnya makin cakep deh display-nya.

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  21. Aku belum main ke sini nih mama Bo. Insya Allah masuk list lah buat dikunjungi

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  22. Makin mupeeeng lihat foto-foto mba Indah. Aku beberapa kali ke Jakarta. Tapi belum punya kesempatan ke museum, meski benebebe kali udah ada niat kesana

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  23. Huaaaaaa kerak telor. Udah lama gak makan itu. Kangen juga deh. Tiap ke Jakarta gak pernah nemu. Apa mesti kudu ke Museum Jakarta dulu, ya? Btw, aku kok serem ya lihat penjaranya. Bola-bola besi itu bikin kebayang tahanan yang pake bola besi itu di kaki.

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  24. ahh kerak teloor..
    Ku terakhir kesini 3 tahun yang lalu, dan makan kerak teloor jugaaa Maaak!
    Cus ahh, kita kesana ngerak telor ajee ..

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  25. Ke museum itu selalu terkenang cerita sejarah ya Mbak. Teringat dulu pertama kali ke museum berasa masuk ke masa lalu. Aku blm pernah makan Kerak Telor

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  26. Jalan jalan ke museum itu emang udah merupakan liburan yang paling keren ya kak...

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  27. Sering lewat ke musium Fatahillah tapi belum pernah masuk ke dalamnya. Ntar ah direncanakan sama anak anak ke sini. Terima kasih untuk inspirasinya mom

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  28. Aku belum pernah kesini mba huhu padahal tinggal di Jakarta. Btw itu kerak telor menggoda banget yes dan jadi inget terakhir makan itu waktu di Monas harganya masih 10 ribu aja.

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  29. Mengajak anak ke museum bisa sekaligus belajar sejarah yaa, Mba. Pengen juga deh ngajak anakku ke museum, sayangnya di kota kami gak ada museum yang bisa dikunjungi :(

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  30. Kerak telor, penasaran deh gimana rasanya. Apakah mirip martabak telor? Tapi kalo lihat dari 2 jenis telor yang digunakan, saya kayaknya lebih suka yang rasa telor ayam deh daripada yang telor bebek :)

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  31. Wah aku juga harus ke museum Jakarta nih. Pengen belajar sejarah Jakarta tempo dulu. Biar nambah wawasan.

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  32. Wah, berkunjung ke museum seperti ini pasti menambah pengetahuan terutama mengenai sejarah

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  33. Museum Jakarta bagus banget, tertata rapi dan apik, enggak seram seperti yang orang suka bilang soal museum. Bakalan seneng deh jalan-jalan dan belajar di museum Jakarta.

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  34. Bagus ya ternyata museum Jakarta. Baru tahu ada foto batavia zaman dulu nya

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  35. Yess museum sejarah jakarta emang sekarang udah keren banget setelah revitalisasi. Kalau makin keceh gini sih harusnya kita termotivasi buat makin aware yaa

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  36. It's been along time since last time i go to museum for touring. Seem like you and kids enjoy the trip. You give them well education through visit museum. And hopefully others mom following you also. Good info Kak it's enrich my knowledge.

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  37. aku tu seneng banget ke museum beginian :) sayangnya aku kalau ke jakarta cuma urusan kerjaan jadi ga pernah liburan

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  38. Tahun lalu berkunjung ke Museum Jakarta bareng sama rombongan anakku, jadi sekelas mereka ada study tour gitu beb. Seru! jadi tau sejarah lengkap tentang jakarta.

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  39. aku udah beberapa kali juga nih ke museum sejarah jakarta selalu seru dan ga bosenin.. anyway aku jadi kepengen kerak telor gara gara liat foto di post ini mba. udah berapa lama ya ga jajan kerak telor. huaa mendadak laper masa

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  40. Sayang banget pas aku di jakarta kemaren ga sempat main ke sana, kayanya seru ya mba kalau ke sana bareng rombongan, jadi ada banyak temen nya hihihi

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  41. Udah lama ga jalan2 nih di Jakarta apalagi wisata sejarah kyk gini. Ntar pas ke Jakarta pengen deh mampir kesini, seru deh pasti

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  42. Seru ya.. aku jarang masuk museum haha. Tp bagus jg kali kali masuk ke museum. Nambah pengetahuan juga kan ya hehe

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  43. Padahal aku lahir dan besar di jakarta, tapi belum pernah ke sini dong, huhu.. kapan2 kalau ke jakarta mau coba ke museum ini deh.. wisata sambil belajar ya😁

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  44. Apa hanya aku yang seumur hidup belum pernah makan kerak telur. Paling asik emang mengunjungi museum ^^

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  45. Great cohosting with you this week.

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  46. Jadi keingetan waktu ajakin Glow anakku main ke sini mba, terlena sama kucing dang merengek untuk bisa di bawah pulang...

    Dan sampe skrg masih inget klo kita ke museum, momi janji ya bawa kucingnya lol

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  47. This was quite a lesson. It is my pleasure to co-host with you at #OMHGWW.

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  48. waaah aku belum pernah kesini nih, emang orang nya jarang banget pergi ke jakarta, kapan kapan pengen banget ah mampir ke sini, pengen jajan kerak telornya juga hehehe

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  49. I remember the last time I went to the museum Fatahillah it wat raining cats and dogs so we were trapped inside our car and couldn't visit the museum. Hiks. Tambah penasaran sama renovasinya nih.

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  50. Aku juga lagi suka belajar sejarah nih Mbak Jadi suka datang ke museum juga untuk belajar sejarah

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  51. udah lama ga ke museum disanaa. udah 2 taun yg llu kesininyaa. kangen suasananya dan isi isinyaa

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