Fort Rotterdam needs breathing space<\/p>\n
By Hasanuddin Hamid<\/p>\n
MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Fort Rotterdam, the 16th
\ncentury building that is a legacy of the Dutch colonial age, is
\none of the few historical buildings left intact, but it is slowly
\nchoking to death.<\/p>\n
Unlike many other such buildings here, it has escaped being
\npulled down to make way for the city's development, but it is now
\nbeing squeezed tightly between office and residential buildings.
\nA lack of funds for maintenance compounds the matter.<\/p>\n
To the north of the city is the local state radio station
\nbuilding, RRI Nusantara IV. To the south, stands the building of
\nthe regional office of the ministry of industry and trade and the
\noffice of the Indonesian war veterans. To the east, Makassar
\ngrand post office, the offices of Bukopin Bank, Mandiri Bank,
\nformer Bank Duta and residential sprawl...<\/p>\n
To keep the fort in good condition and preserve its historical
\nvalue as well as originality, said Gunadi, head of the historical
\nand archaeological legacy reserve center for South-East Sulawesi,
\nthis old fort should not be located near other buildings.
\nClearly, the proximity of modern office buildings to this fort is
\na constraint that the local administration must remove.<\/p>\n
Gunadi said that in 1998\/99 the reserve center planned to
\nprovide a \"breathing space\" outside the fort, taken by many as a
\nsymbol of the Gowa Kingdom, by constructing a path outside the
\nfort. Unfortunately, this construction was terminated because of
\nthe establishment of a residential area. Another reason was the
\nfunds Makassar Tourism Service had pledged did not materialize.<\/p>\n
At present some 20 families reside in the northern and eastern
\nparts of the fort. The walls of local houses became coterminous
\nwith the walls of the fort. \"The reserve center finds it
\ndifficult to clean and conserve the walls of the fort as most
\nresidents' houses are permanent,\" said Gunadi.<\/p>\n
In its earliest form, the renovation of Fort Rotterdam was
\ngeared towards moving away office buildings in a bid to preserve
\nits originality. Unfortunately, the plan had to be abandoned due
\nto lack of funds.<\/p>\n
The key to successful management of an ancient building is
\nadequate space. This means moving away the more recent buildings
\nnow standing around the fort, Gunadi said.<\/p>\n
An initial sketch of the fort, made by the Dutch, shows that
\nFort Rotterdam was considered the city center. As office
\nbuildings have been built around the fort with walls joined on to
\nthose of the fort, it is really hard to convince the younger
\ngeneration that this was actually the center of Makassar City.<\/p>\n
In Korea, Gunadi said by way of example, the government has
\nissued a regulation that a fort must have open space for a
\ndistance of about 30 m from its outer boundary.<\/p>\n
When he was assigned in Central Java, Gunadi said, he proposed
\nto the regional administration that a fort or a historic building
\nshould have open space for about 200-500 meters around it. The
\nregional administration agreed and devised the regional
\nregulation.<\/p>\n
He added that he had asked the regional administration of
\nMakassar City and the local regional legislative assembly to see
\nto it that the architecture of historical buildings should be
\npreserved.<\/p>\n
\"It is true that Law No. 5\/1992 on preserved cultural objects
\nis still in force, but a decision from the municipality or a
\nregional regulation will be needed to add force to Law No.
\n5\/1992,\" Gunadi said.<\/p>\n
Defense of Gowa King<\/p>\n
The fort was built in 1545 by the 9th Gowa King, Imanriogau
\nDaeng Bonto Karaeng Lakiung, with the title of Karaeing
\nTunipllangga Ulaweing. The building was called Ujungpandang Fort
\nor Jumpandang Fort because it is surrounded by pandanus trees
\n(ujung pandang literally means the tip of pandanus leaves.)<\/p>\n
Indigenous Makassar people, however, call this fort the Fort
\nof Panynyua (a word in Makassar meaning \"a turtle\", because it is
\nturtle-shaped.<\/p>\n
When the Bungaya treaty was signed on 18 November, 1667,
\nmarking the fall of the Gowa Kingdom into Dutch hands, the name
\nof the fort was changed to Vlaardingen.<\/p>\n
When Dutch Governor General Speelman ruled over Makassar, he
\nchanged again the name of the fort to Fort Rotterdam, in memory
\nof his birthplace in Holland.<\/p>\n
In a book titled Menyusuri Jejak Kehadiran Makassar dalam
\nSejarah (Tracing the Historical Path of Ujungpandang), expert on
\nanthropology and history of Hasanuddin University Prof Matullada,
\nsaid that the architecture of Fort Rotterdam was much influenced
\nby models of buildings in the middle ages, which in general were
\nnot that different from forts built in Europe in 16th century -
\n17th century.<\/p>\n
Fort Rotterdam is about 21,000 square meters in area. Its rear
\nand sides are 4-6 meters high. The door to the front part of the
\nfort overlooking the sea is 7 m high and was originally intended
\nto drive away attacks from the Dutch fleet. A number of ancient
\ncannons are placed at the four corners of the fort, known as
\nbastions.<\/p>\n
Inside the fort there are 15 Dutch-style buildings, namely,
\namong others, the Archaeological Center, the Makassar Arts
\nCouncil and the Museum of La Galigo (named after a Bugis
\nintellectual). The museum has a collection of items making up
\nSouth Sulawesi's royal legacy.<\/p>\n
On April 27, 1997, Fort Rotterdam was officially declared the
\nCultural Center of South Sulawesi.<\/p>",
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