Museum Bank Indonesia (Jakarta)
By
Tibs
→
I did not expect much from the Museum Bank Indonesia in North Jakarta, but after my visit I must say that it is one of the best things to do during the day in the city. Inaugurated in 2009 in the former building of the De Javasche Bank, the ancestor of Bank Indonesia, it is a modern museum, clean and rather well-organized. The building itself is over a hundred year old and was designed by the famous Dutch architect Eduard Cuypers.
The Museum of National Awakening in Jakarta (Museum Kebangkitan Nasional) is not a very well known thing to do in Jakarta, but it is worth visiting. STOVIA Building It is located in the building of the STOVIA (School Tot Opleiding Van Inlandsche Arsten) or School for the Training of Local Doctors. The school and the building were created at the beginning of the 20th century by the Dutch, part of their "Ethical Policy" which consisted in improving the welfare of colonial subjects.
The Jakarta Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics (Museum Seni Rupa dan Keramik in Indonesian) is located on Taman Fatahillah Square in North Jakarta. It is one of the 5 museums in the area with the Bank Indonesia Museum , the Bank Mandiri Museum, the Jakarta History Museum and the Wayang Museum. It is located in a building that served as the Court of Justice of Batavia during colonial times from 1870 until the Second World War. It then became a museum in 1976.
The Museum Bahari or Maritime Museum of Jakarta is located in the north of the city, a 15-minute walk from Taman Fatahillah. You can also reach it easily from the old harbour of Sunda Kelapa. It is next to the Syahbandar tower and the Pasar Ikan (Fish Market) of Luar Batang. You can scroll down to see some pictures of the things to see in this area. As its name indicates, the Museum has a collection of objects linked to Jakarta and Indonesia's maritime history. It includes several real boats, some small-scale boat replicas from different regions of Indonesia (Pinisi, Lancang, Gelati), some navigation equipment and tools, some paintings and some photos. You can also read about diverse topics such as the history of spice trade in Indonesia, colonization, boat architecture, the Indonesian Navy, the building of Tanjung Priok, etc. On the second floor, you have a bit of a strange section with several dioramas representing personalities related to the sea: Famous navig
As of 2015, the National Museum of Indonesia (or Museum Nasional) is probably the best museum to visit in Jakarta. Centrally located, it is just a few minutes away by taxi from Plaza Indonesia or Jalan Jaksa. You can also reach it with the busway by stopping at the "Monas" station on the Kota - Blok M line. For the contact details, the opening hours, the free tours schedule and the entrance free, please scroll to the bottom of this review. The Museum was open in its present location in 1868 and it has been known for a long time as the Gedung Gajah or Elephant Building. The nickname is due to the statue in front of the building, a gift from the King of Thailand Rama V in 1871.
The Jakarta History Museum (Museum Sejarah Jakarta in Indonesian) is one of the numerous things to do for tourists around Taman Fatahillah Square. As the name suggests, it traces the history of Jakarta from prehistoric times up until modern times. In my opinion, it is the second best museum in the area after the Museum Bank Indonesia . It is located inside the colonial building which served as the city hall for Batavia from 1710 to 1913. In 1974, it became a museum displaying any kinds of artifacts, paintings, drawings, maps, replicas, furniture and objects about the history of Jakarta. As often with Jakarta museums, the building is worth the visit as much as the collection. In particular, it is interesting to spend some time in the nice backyard and to inspect the dungeon. There aren't that many rooms to look so you will only need around 30 minutes. Even though it isn't the most interesting museum you'll ever visit, I think it is worth having a
The only remaining colonial drawbridge in Indonesia, Kota Intan was built by the Dutch in 1630. It looks similar to bridges built in Amsterdam at the same period. Connecting the districts of Pinangsia and Roa Malaka, it was manually leveraged whenever a boat would request access. The boat were usually transporting spices on the Ciliwung river up until warehouses located further down the canal. You can still visit them at the Museum Bahari or the restaurants Raja Kuring and VOC Galangan.
The Museum Bank Mandiri is one of the least interesting I have visited in Jakarta. It seems that the bank did not know what to do with the building so they decided to put all their trash and old equipment there. In the end, you can see mostly old ATM machines, old typewriters, old computers and old calculators that don't have any significant historical value. They also have a few random mannequins. Overall : I see three kinds of people who could be interested to visit the Museum Mandiri: