Historical building awaits attention<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko, Contributor, Semarang<\/p>\n
A tourist visiting the city was surprised to see a huge, unique
\nbuilding that stands in a strategic area adjacent to Tugu Muda
\nmonument had been left abandoned. It was in a poor condition,
\ndirty and gloomy.<\/p>\n
"It's a pity. The building has historical value and could
\nbecome a tourist attraction," Saraswati, a resident of
\nYogyakarta, sighed. She wondered why the local administration did
\nnot turn it into a hotel, or at least an office building.<\/p>\n
She was referring to Gedung Lawang Sewu, which literally means
\na building with a thousand doors, at the end of Jl. Pemuda. It is
\ncalled Gedung Lawang Sewu because it has many doors. The upper
\npart of each door takes a shape of an arch with holes on it.<\/p>\n
The two-story building has an L shape, with the corner facing
\nthe Tugu Muda monument. The main door is located just at the
\ncorner and is sandwiched by two towers, each with an octagonal
\ncupola on top.<\/p>\n
It was designed by two Dutch architects, C. Citroen, from the
\nfirm J.F. Klinkhamer, and B.J. Quendag, in 1862 for Nederlandsch
\nIndische Spoorwegmaatschapij, or NIS, the first train company in
\nJava. Officials of the company who worked in the building
\nmonitored the Semarang-Tanggung and Tanggung-Kedungjati train
\nroutes, as well as the Kedungjati-Surakarta, Surakarta-Yogyakarta
\nand Kedungjati-Ambarawa routes.<\/p>\n
The trains were operated to transport plantation commodities
\nin the area of the Yogyakarta and Surakarta kingdoms, which were
\nunder the colonial government. Those commodities were exported to
\nother countries.<\/p>\n
The first railway was made in Java following the completion of
\nroad construction from Anyer to Panarukan during the
\nadministration of Daendles.<\/p>\n
At that time, the building faced Wilhelmina Park, a beautiful
\nrecreational area with facilities to play music. In front of the
\nbuilding, a city tram on the Bulu to Jomblang route used to pass.
\nThe tram tracks was still there until the 1980s, but now, there
\nis no sign of them as the road has been leveled and covered over
\nwith asphalt.<\/p>\n
Gedung Lawang Sewu also reflected the approach of the
\narchitects who made the design to suit the local climate.
\nTherefore, the architecture in the century became contextual, and
\nwas called Indische.<\/p>\n
In October 1945 war broke out when Indonesians fought Japanese
\nsoldiers. During the Five-Day War, the ground in front of the
\nbuilding became a battlefield and many Indonesian fighters were
\nkilled there.<\/p>\n
Today, Gedung Lawang Sewu is totally abandoned. Many of the
\nwindows and doors are rotten and moss covers much of the walls,
\nwhile the yard is dirty. The once magnificent building now looks
\nlike it is haunted and is home to many swallows, spiders and
\nbats. Local people even call it sarang hantu (ghost
\nheadquarters). Maybe it is not true, but one thing is clear: the
\nbuilding is very neglected.<\/p>\n
The state of Gedung Lawang Sewu is in stark contrast to the
\nsurrounding buildings. Opposite is the luxury official house of
\nthe governor while a bank can be seen across Jl. Pemuda and a
\ncathedral is situated to the south of the building, all of them
\nwell maintained.<\/p>\n
A private company reportedly planned in the 1990s to turn the
\nbuilding into a hotel. However, development of the plan did not
\nreach fruition. Semarang mayor Sukawi Sutarip does not know what
\nto do with the building.<\/p>\n
"We simply try to maintain the original design of old
\nbuildings in Semarang that are on the list of protected
\nbuildings," he told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview. He
\nadded the local administration still lacked a strong legal basis
\nto protect old buildings. As a result, some building owners
\nchanged the design.<\/p>\n
The fate of old buildings in Semarang is sad indeed. At least
\n15 of 176 protected buildings were leveled or totally renovated
\nby the owners, according to research in 1996 and 1997 by deputy
\nchairwoman of the Central Java chapter of the Indonesian
\nArchitects' Association Widya Wijayanti. "Maybe the total has
\nincreased since then," she said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/historical-building-awaits-attention-1447893297",
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