Places of historical interest in Old Banten

Should you wish to take some time off to visit Banten, here are some points of interest:

* Keraton Surosowan (Surosowan Palace)

Located 10 kilometers north of Serang city, the keraton was built during the time of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin (1552-1570). Sultan Maulana Yusuf (1570-1580) reinforced the approximately 3.8-hectare keraton with a surrounding wall of brick and coral. A moat was also used to surround the keraton, experts say. The keraton was destroyed in the attack by the Dutch in 1808.

Remains of the keraton can still be found, including its foundations, walls, gateway and the remains of royal pools, the result of years of archaeological excavations on the site.

Interesting to note is the terracotta water pipes leading to the royal pool, Pancuran Mas (golden fountain), from the man-made Tasik Ardi lake, some two kilometers southwest of the keraton.

For the water in the Pancuran Mas to be clear and fresh, water from Tasik Ardi was filtered three times, through a pengindelan abang (red filter), pengindelan putih (white filter), and pengindelan mas (gold filter). Remains of the three pengindelan can still be seen, evidence of an ancient water-filtering system.

* Speelwijk fort

Constructed by the Dutch in stages beginning in 1685 on top of the northern part of the old Banten city wall and facing the sea, it is named after the governor general at the time, Cornelis Janszoon Speelman (1681-1684).

The fort was used to protect the interests of the Dutch in trade, politics and military.

Today, parts of the massive, four-sided walls are still visible, together with the remains of its fortified towers, or bastions, at each of the four corners.

An underground room with slits, enough for guns, overlooking what used to be the sea, also remains, as well as ruins of underground cells.

A kerkhof, or Dutch cemetery can be found close by, for Europeans who died in Banten.

* Banten Great Mosque

Construction of the Great Mosque, west of Keraton Surosowan, began in 1566 during the reign of Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin (1552-1570). It was traditionally expanded and renovated during the reigns of the following sultans.

The mosque complex comprises the mosque itself, the Tiyamah building, minaret and cemetery.

In its time, the mosque was the center of the spread of Muslim influence in the region, and Muslim clerics used to convene at the mosque's Tiyamah building to discuss religious issues.

Both the Tiyamah building and the minaret were the work of Dutch architect Hendrick Lucas Cardeel, who was invited to reinforce Surosowan by Sultan Abu Nashr Abdul Qahhar (Sultan Haji) (1680-1687).

The minaret's architecture is unique in Indonesia and has become the symbol of the province.

* Avalokitesvara Chinese Temple

The focal point for Chinese devotees everywhere for Chinese New Year, the temple is one of the few remaining pieces of evidence of Chinese influence in the area.

The temple was built in the town's Pecinan (Chinatown) area, just west of Speelwijk fortress in the 17th century.

* State Building

The State Building, facing the Serang town square, was built from the material taken from Keraton Surosowan, according to Endjat, based on some archaeological excavations in the area.

"We opened a test pit in the grounds once and found some terracota and teak that we believed once belonged to Surosowan," he said.

At first, the building was used as the office of the head of the Banten residency, the first of which was J. de Bruijn WD, between 1817 and 1818. From 1974 it was used as the office of the assistant governor for Banten region, and finally as the governor's office when the region became a province in 2000.

The State Building was built in the Indisch architectural form -- Eastern architecture influenced by Dutch architecture -- and is believed to have been built at around 1814 by an architect whose name is unknown.

* Serang Police Building

Also located around the Serang town square, the Serang Police Building once housed the Dutch Hollandsche Inlandsche School (HIS). Built in the early 19th century, the building remains in good condition.

* Maulana Yusuf Military Resort Command Building

Built in early 19th century, the building was used as the barracks of the Dutch military police.

Little is known of the building because it is under the strict control of the Military.

-- Tantri Yuliandini