Dutch national traces Lido resort history
Dutch national traces Lido resort history
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The story behind the famous Lido Tourist Resort in West Java was
finally revealed on Sunday as Mascha Braak, the granddaughter of
Lido's founder, Antonius Hohanes Indoficus Maria Zwijsen, arrived
in the area.
"Ms. Braak is visiting the tourist resort to trace the history
of her grandfather," said spokesperson of Lido Lake and Resort,
Asri Mulyono, on Monday.
The vast Lido Tourist Resort, which is situated in Watesjaya
subdistrict between Bogor and Sukabumi regencies, was established
by Zwijsen, the Dutch national, in 1938.
Lido Tourist Resort operator welcomed Braak's arrival on
Sunday night with various traditional performances such as West
Javanese martial art debus, pencak silat, jaipong dance and drum
bands performed by Cijeruk junior high school students.
Braak's visit was timely as the Lido resort operator had been
seeking more information on the history of the Lido tourist
resort, said Asri. "We have been seeking information on Lido's
history from the Dutch Embassy and history literature, but we
found very little information," said Asri.
Braak's visit will be helpful in providing the Lido's operator
more accurate information on the history behind the establishment
of the resort, said Asri.
"Braak has a collection of pictures and articles from her
grandfather on the story behind Lido," said Asri, quoted as
saying by Antara news agency.
Meanwhile, Braak herself said that she came to know about the
history of Lido after her grandmother Chatarina Anna Bremster
died last year. "I found some documents with the romantic stories
my grandfather wrote to my grandmother concerning Lido. Based on
that information, I went to Lido to trace my family history,"
said Braak.
Braak's grandfather, Zwijsen, was born June 5, 1898 in the
Netherlands. He established the tourist resort as the Lido
area was calm, tranquil and cool. "My grandfather and grandmother
met in the area in 1937 and they got married," said Braak.
According to Asri, the Lido tourist resort was well known
among the Dutch and it was even once visited by Queen Wilhelmina.
The place was also popular among Indonesians. The first
Indonesian president, Soekarno, once spent time there in the
1940s, and while there he wrote a famous book entitled "Sarinah."