Historical City of Batavia
Batavia was a central administrative city during the Dutch East Indies colonial era. In today’s era, Batavia is better known as the old town of Jakarta. Batavia is a small area in Jakarta, situated on the border of West Jakarta and North Jakarta. It is not far from Sunda Kelapa port because Batavia used to be a trading center on Java Island and also the capital of the Dutch East Indies at that time.
Full of History
In the past, there were trams that traversed the city of Batavia, initially using horse-drawn power, then steam power, until the world’s first electric-powered tram (April 1899). In the old city of Batavia itself, there is the Governor-General’s office building of the Dutch East Indies, now better known as Fatahillah Museum. There are also the Wayang Museum, Bank Indonesia Museum, Fine Arts and Ceramics Museum, Bank Mandiri Museum, which you must visit in the old city of Batavia.
Photo by Azhar Rizki Zulma on Instagram
Jakarta’s Culinary Delights
In addition to the numerous museums, there are also typical Jakarta snacks around the old Batavia area, such as Kerak Telur, Es Selendang Mayang, and others. The buildings in the old city of Batavia generally have a high historical architectural value because all their architectural designs are influenced by European architecture. There is a cannon called “Si Jagur” located in front of Fatahillah Museum or in Fatahillah Square. If you are in Jakarta, don’t forget to visit and explore this area so that you can get to know Jakarta or the Batavia era before Indonesia gained independence.
