Jakarta History Museum

Lonely Planet review

The Jakarta History Museum is housed in the old town hall of Batavia, and is probably one of the most solid reminders of Dutch rule within Indonesia. This bell-towered hall, built in 1627, served the administration of the city. It was also used by the city law courts, and its dungeons were the main prison compound of Batavia.

Today it contains lots of heavy, carved furniture and other memorabilia from the Dutch period. Among the more interesting exhibits are early pictures of Batavia and a series of dour portraits of Dutch governors general.

In the back courtyard is a strange memorial stone to Pieter Erbervelt, put to death in 1722 for allegedly conspiring to massacre the Dutch inhabitants of Batavia, and the huge bronze Cannon Si Jagur that once graced Taman Fatahillah. This Portuguese cannon, brought to Batavia as a trophy of war after the fall of Melaka in 1641, tapers at one end into a large clenched fist, with the thumb protruding between the index and middle fingers. This suggestive fist is a sexual symbol in Indonesia, and childless women would offer flowers and sit astride the cannon in the hope of gaining children.