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Jakarta
History
Jakarta has a remarkable history. Its history as a trading center started as a small harbour town called Sunda Kelapa, but its actual founding dates back to the year 1527, when it was named Jayakarta by Fatahillah of the neighboring Sultanate of Banten. The name Jayakarta means City of Great Victory. During the 17th century it served as the capital of the Dutch East Indies with the name Batavia. Reminders of this period can still be seen today in the architecture of some of the northern parts of the city. When Indonesian independence was finally secured it was renamed Jakarta, and serves today as the centre of the government, business and industry, spreading over an area of more than 650sq.km (410sq miles).
Jakarta’s architecture reflects the history of outside influences which came and left their mark on this vital seaport city. The Taman Fatahillah Restoration Project, begun in the early 1970’s has restored one of the oldest section of Jakarta, known as Old Batavia or Kota, to one of the most picturesque areas of the entire city. An old Portuguese Church and warehouse have been reincarnated as living museums. The old Supreme Court building is now the National Museum of Fine Arts and house part of the superb Chinese Porcelain collection of former Vice-President Adam Malik. The old Town Hall has become the Jakarta Museum, displaying such rare items as old Indonesian historical documents and Ducth period furniture. Even the city’s tower clock was returned to England to be repaired under its lifetime guarantee, a lifetime which has now stretched over a hundreds of years.
This page: http://www.cockatoo.com/english/indonesia/indonesia_jakarta_history.htm
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