Places of interest in Banten<\/p>\n
Should you want to take some time off to visit Banten, here are
\nsome points of interest:<\/p>\n
* Keraton Surosowan<\/p>\n
Located 10 kilometers north of Serang city, the keraton was
\nconstructed during the time of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin (1552-
\n1570). Sultan Maulana Yusuf (1570-1580) enforced the
\napproximately 3.8 hectare keraton with a surrounding wall from
\nbrick and coral. A moat also used to surround the keraton experts
\nsay. The keraton was destroyed in the attack by the Dutch in
\n1808.<\/p>\n
Remains of the keraton can still be found, including its
\nfoundation, walls, gateway, and the remains of royal pools, the
\nresult of years of archaeological excavations on the site.<\/p>\n
Interesting to note is the terracotta water pipes leading to
\nthe royal pool, Pancuran Mas (golden fountain), from the man-made
\nTasik Ardi lake some two kilometers south west of the keraton.<\/p>\n
For the water in the Pancuran Mas to be clear and fresh, water
\nfrom Tasik Ardi was filtered three times through pengindelan
\nabang (red filter), pengindelan putih (white filter), and
\npengindelan mas (gold filter). Remains of the three pengindelan
\ncould still be seen, evidence of an ancient water filtering
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
* Speelwijk fort<\/p>\n
Constructed in stages beginning in 1685 on top of the northern
\npart of the old Banten city wall, facing the sea, by the Dutch
\nand named after governor general at the time, Cornelis Janszoon
\nSpeelman (1681-1684).<\/p>\n
The fort was used to protect the interests of Dutch in trade,
\npolitics and military.<\/p>\n
Today, parts of the massive four-sided walls are still visible
\ntogether with the remains of its fortified towers, or bastions,
\nat each of the four corners.<\/p>\n
An underground room with slits, enough for guns, overlooking
\nwhat used to be the sea also remained, as well as ruins of
\nunderground cells.<\/p>\n
A kerkhof or Dutch cemetery can be found close by for
\nEuropeans who died in Banten.<\/p>\n
* Banten Great Mosque<\/p>\n
Construction of the Great Mosque, west of Keraton Surosowan,
\nbegan in 1566 during the reign of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin
\n(1552-1570). It was traditionally expanded and renovated during
\nthe reigns of the following sultans.<\/p>\n
The mosque complex comprise of the actual mosque, the Tiyamah
\nbuilding, mosque tower, and cemetery.<\/p>\n
In its time, the mosque was the center of the spread of Muslim
\ninfluence in the region, and Muslim clerics used to convene at
\nthe mosque's Tiyamah building to discuss religious issues.<\/p>\n
Both the Tiyamah building and the mosque tower was the work of
\nDutch architect Hendrick Lucas Cardeel who was invited to
\nstrengthen Surosowan by Sultan Abu Nashr Abdul Qahhar (Sultan
\nHaji) (1680-1687).<\/p>\n
The mosque tower's architecture is the only one of a kind in
\nIndonesia and has become the symbol of the province.<\/p>\n
* Avalokitesvara Chinese Temple<\/p>\n
The focal point for Chinese devotees everywhere for Chinese
\nNew Year, the Avalokitesvara Chinese Temple is one of the few
\nremaining evidences of Chinese influence in the area.<\/p>\n
The temple was built in the town's Pecinan (China town) area,
\njust west of Speelwijk fortress in the 17th century.<\/p>\n
* State Building<\/p>\n
The State Building, facing the Serang town square, was built
\nfrom the material taken from Keraton Surosowan, according to
\nEndjat based on some archaeological excavations in the area.<\/p>\n
\"We opened a test-pit on the grounds once and found some
\nterracota and teak wood that we believed once belonged to
\nSurosowan,\" he said.<\/p>\n
At first the building was used as office of the head of the
\nBanten residency, the first of which was J. de Bruijn WD between
\n1817 and 1818. From 1974 it was used as the office of the
\nassistant governor for Banten region, and finally as governor's
\noffice when the region became a province in 2000.<\/p>\n
The State Building was built in the Indisch architectural
\nform, eastern architecture influenced by Dutch architecture,
\nbelieved to have been built at around 1814 by an unknown
\narchitect.<\/p>\n
* Serang Police Building<\/p>\n
Also located around the Serang town square, the Serang Police
\nBuilding once housed the Dutch Hollandsche Inlandsche School
\n(HIS), and built in the early 19th century, the building remained
\nin good condition.<\/p>\n
* Maulana Yusuf Military Resort Command Building<\/p>\n
Built in early 19th century, the building was used as the
\nbarracks of the Dutch military police.<\/p>\n
Little is known of the building because it is under strict
\ncontrol of the military.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/places-of-interest-in-banten-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}