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Merdeka Palace

Architecture in IndonesiaBuildings and structures completed in 1873Central JakartaColonial architecture in JakartaCultural Properties of Indonesia in Jakarta
LandhuizenPresidential palaces in IndonesiaState guesthousesVague or ambiguous geographic scope from August 2015Vague or ambiguous time from August 2015
Merdeka Palace Changing Guard 1
Merdeka Palace Changing Guard 1

The Merdeka Palace (Indonesian: Istana Merdeka; also known in Indonesian as Istana Gambir and during the Dutch colonial times as Paleis te Koningsplein), is one of six presidential palaces in Indonesia. It is located on the north side of the Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta, Indonesia and is used as the official residence of the president of the Republic of Indonesia. The palace was a residence for the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies during the colonial era. In 1949, the palace was renamed Merdeka Palace, "(ke)merdeka(an)" meaning "freedom" or "independence". The Merdeka Palace is part of the 6.8 ha (17 acres) Jakarta Presidential Palace Complex, which also includes the Negara Palace, Wisma Negara (state guest house), Sekretariat Negara (State Secretariat), and the Bina Graha building. It is the center of the Indonesian executive authority.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Merdeka Palace (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Merdeka Palace
Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara, Special Capital Region of Jakarta Gambir (Central Jakarta)

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -6.1702777777778 ° E 106.82416666667 °
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Istana Merdeka

Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara
10110 Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Gambir (Central Jakarta)
Indonesia
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Merdeka Palace Changing Guard 1
Merdeka Palace Changing Guard 1
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Harmony Society, Batavia
Harmony Society, Batavia

The Harmony Society (Dutch: Societeit de Harmonie) was an elite social club in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. It was the oldest clubhouse in Asia when it was demolished. The construction of the group's building included the former bricks of the wall of Old Batavia. It was demolished for road widening and parking area in 1985. Activities at the club included cards and billiards. Indigenous people were excluded from the club.J.C. Schultze was the building's architect and also designed the Jakarta Art Building (Batavia Schouwburg). The society building was constructed to convince Europeans to move from the old city centre (now Kota, Jakarta) to the more southerly area of Weltevreden. The style of the building is Neoclassical. The area around it has been referred to as ‘Harmoni’ and its destruction prompted increased awareness of Indonesia's colonial heritage.The club in Central Jakarta was located at the intersection of Jalan Veteran and Jalan Majapahit (called Rijswijk and Rijswijkstraat respectively during the Dutch colonial era). The first societeit club built in Batavia was at Buiten Nieuwpoorstraat (now Jalan Pintu Besar Selatan) in West Jakarta. In 1810, Governor General Herman Willem Daendels dispatched Major Schultze, designer of Daendels Palace at Waterlooplein, to design the large clubhouse. He wanted it to compete and undermine the influence of the Freemasons and it was part of his plan to move the administrative center of Batavia to the southern district of Weltevreden. The building was budgeted to cost 105,000 rijksdaalders and Batavia in the Nineteenth Century Photographs. After the British attacked Batavia in Aug 1811, construction was overseen by the new British Lieutenant-Governor of Java Thomas Stamford Raffles with a construction cost of 360,000 rijksdaalders. Abdul Hamied was the building's contractor. Construction was completed in late 1814 and the Harmonie club opened on January 18, 1815, to coincide with the official birthday of Queen Charlotte, wife of the then British King George III. Raffles included collections from the museum and library of the Batavian Society of Arts and Science in the building's annex. G. Windsor Earl visited. A Dutch cultural fair (Kermis) was held at the club and the Harmonie hosted a party for the 250th anniversary of the city of Batavia May 29, 1869. The clubhouse's site is now a park and parking lot of the State Secretariat office.

Jakarta
Jakarta

Jakarta (; Indonesian pronunciation: [dʒaˈkarta] (listen)), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta is the largest city in Southeast Asia and serves as the diplomatic capital of ASEAN. The city is the economic, cultural, and political centre of Indonesia. It possesses a province-level status and has a population of 10,562,088 as of mid-2021. Although Jakarta extends over only 664.01 km2 (256.38 sq mi) and thus has the smallest area of any Indonesian province, its metropolitan area covers 9,957.08 km2 (3,844.45 sq mi), which includes the satellite cities Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, South Tangerang, and Bekasi, and has an estimated population of 35 million as of 2021, making it the largest urban area in Indonesia and the second-largest in the world (after Tokyo). Jakarta ranks first among the Indonesian provinces in the human development index. Jakarta's business and employment opportunities, along with its ability to offer a potentially higher standard of living compared to other parts of the country, have attracted migrants from across the Indonesian archipelago, making it a melting pot of numerous cultures. Jakarta is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Southeast Asia. Established in the fourth century as Sunda Kelapa, the city became an important trading port for the Sunda Kingdom. At one time, it was the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies, when it was known as Batavia. Jakarta was officially a city within West Java until 1960 when its official status was changed to a province with special capital region distinction. As a province, its government consists of five administrative cities and one administrative regency. Jakarta is an alpha world city and is the seat of the ASEAN secretariat. Financial institutions such as the Bank of Indonesia, Indonesia Stock Exchange, and corporate headquarters of numerous Indonesian companies and multinational corporations are located in the city. In 2021, the city's GRP PPP was estimated at US$602.946 billion. Jakarta's main challenges include rapid urban growth, ecological breakdown, gridlocked traffic, congestion, and flooding. Jakarta is sinking up to 17 cm (6.7 inches) annually, which has made the city more prone to flooding. In fact, it is one of the fastest-sinking capitals in the world. In response to these challenges, in August 2019, President Joko Widodo announced that the capital of Indonesia would be moved from Jakarta to the planned city of Nusantara, in the province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.