The Legacy of Hotel Toegoe Jogja: Once a Venue for a Banquet with the King of Siam and KNIL Headquarters
Hotel Toegoe, located in the Tugu Station area of Yogyakarta, is a site of significant historical value, particularly from the colonial era. However, the building, estimated to have stood since the 19th century, is now empty and uninhabited.
The Hotel Toegoe building is situated at Jalan Margo Utomo 2, Sosromenduran, Yogyakarta City, directly in front of the east entrance of Tugu Station. Enclosed by a concrete wall, the colonial-style architecture remains sturdy, though there is no longer any activity within it.
Yusri Damayati, a young cultural heritage expert from the Yogyakarta Regional X Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency (BPK), explained that the inn is believed to have existed since 1876 under the name Logement Tugu. Its presence is known from an advertisement in the colonial newspaper De Locomotief in November 1876.
“Hotel Tugu is estimated to have existed in 1876, but at that time it was called Logement Tugu. This is evidenced by an advertisement in the November 1876 edition of De Locomotief,” Yusri said when contacted by detikJogja on Monday (9/3/2026).
In the newspaper advertisement, Logement Tugu was recommended as accommodation for travellers arriving in Yogyakarta. Notably, the inn was already equipped with a swimming pool and bathrooms, which were considered luxurious at the time.
“Well, it mentions that Logement Tugu, meaning Tugu Inn, is recommended for travellers, and this inn was already equipped at that time with a swimming pool and bathrooms,” Yusri said.
However, Yusri noted that the inn did not operate for long. Based on an announcement in the 30 October 1878 edition of De Locomotief, Logement Tugu was closed to the public from 1 November 1878, and all its contents were auctioned on 4 November of the same year.
Nevertheless, the name of the Tugu inn was still mentioned in a February 1885 news report regarding plans to build Tugu Station in front of the building.
“In that news, it was stated that a station would be built in front of the inn to connect the European residential area and the Chinese residential area in Yogyakarta,” he explained.
Yusri added that over time, the inn changed its name to Hotel de Volharding in 1882 before becoming known as Hotel Tugu in 1883. Despite its long history, the exact founder of the inn remains unknown. According to him, the available data cannot yet confirm whether it was established by the colonial government or a private entity.
“Based on archaeologist Lengkong Sanggar Ghinaris’s writing on his personal blog, the Tugu inn changed its name to Hotel de Volharding on 1 June 1882. The name change to Hotel Tugu occurred in 1883,” he explained.
“If it’s called the oldest hotel or who the founder is, that still requires further study because the evidence is not yet clear,” he continued.
Yusri explained, referring to De Locomotief archives, that Hotel Toegoe has witnessed history, such as being the location of the reception for the welcome of the King of Siam (Thailand), Chulalongkorn, who visited Yogyakarta in 1896. Additionally, the building was once used as the headquarters of the KNIL troops during the colonial period.
“As for important events, there are several. Like the venue for the reception welcoming King Chulalongkorn of Siam, who visited Yogyakarta in 1896. This news was reported in the De Locomotief daily on 29 June 1896. Then as the headquarters of the KNIL troops during the Dutch occupation in Yogyakarta,” he said.
Entering the 20th century, the hotel was known to have been purchased by the owner of Grand Hotel de Djokja, but its existence as a hotel continued to change due to successive changes in ownership. The hotel was used for various purposes, such as a bank office and a campus. However, around 2012, the building became vacant and unoccupied.
Now, Hotel Toegoe has been designated as a national cultural heritage building. Additionally, the surrounding area is included in the UNESCO World Heritage site, The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and Its Historic Landmarks, designated in 2023.
“As for its current status, it has become a cultural heritage building. So now it has been designated as a national cultural heritage building. This building is also part of the Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis area, which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site,” he concluded.