Weltevreden complex still stands proud

By Ida Indawati Khouw

Preservationists have been very upset after noticing the rear of the former Supreme Court building in Central Jakarta has been damaged by a developer. Their distress is not surprising, though, since the protected Dutch inheritance, together with the other offices in the Ministry of Finance complex, are known as the oldest government office complex that still exists and, up until now, has been well-managed since the Batavia period. This is the 26th article in the Saturday series about old and protected buildings in Jakarta.

JAKARTA (JP): In the early 19th century during the glory days of Batavia, a swampy, wooded area called Weltevreden was chosen by the Dutch governor general as the location for a new city center.

It's designed to replace the old city center, known as the "walled city", which was located in the now bustling Chinatown shopping and residential area of Kota, in West Jakarta.

Governor-General Herman Willem Daendels, who ruled the Dutch East Indies from 1807 to 1811, moved the city center from the walled city to Weltevreden for sanitary reasons.

The old city center was built in 1619 by Jan Pieterszoon Coen, a former Dutch governor general, dubbed by many as the founder of Batavia. It was already dirty and poorly managed and could no longer represent a city center a la Europe.

Daendels conjured from the new site in the wooded, swampy area, a first-class city center with magnificent office buildings and vast beautiful gardens.

To achieve his dream, the governor general moved most of the important materials from the old city center to Weltevreden.

According to historian Adolf Heuken in his book Historical Sites of Jakarta, Daendels even tore down several properties, including the ancient castle of Coen in the old city center.

Archeologist Candrian Attahiyat said Daendels, for reasons unknown, buried a variety of items taken from the walled city in the Weltevreden area.

"When the museum and restoration agency excavated the earth during the demolition of Siliwangi military housing complex in 1987, we found, among other things, 11 old canon, several pieces of ceramics, shells, and horseshoes," said Candrian, senior staff with the agency.

The artifacts were found one meter beneath the surface, he added.

Bull's Square

In the early days, Weltevreden, named after the biggest and most splendid mansion in Batavia erected near the site, only covered a small plot of land at the place now popularly called Lapangan Banteng (Bull's Square) area.

The site of the new city center was known by many names over the years, changing with the changing of ownership, each time new authorities arrived in Batavia.

In the 17th century, the area was called Paviljoensveld (Paviljoen field), after the owner Anthonij Paviljoen. Unfortunately, his personal data has been hard to find.

In 1693, the land became the property of Cornelis Chastelein, a member of the Indies Council. Chastelein then named the site Weltevreden, meaning well contented, which he took from a country-house he built nearby.

The Weltevreden mansion was the biggest and most elegant building of the time and became the residence of many governor generals, Unfortunately, it aged poorly over the years and was eventually demolished.

In 1797, the Dutch authority started to develop and expand the site, turning it into an administrative and military area.

Daendels' decided on March 7, 1809 to build a new "palace" for governor generals at Weltevreden. The site would also be used for the construction of a new city center of Batavia to replace the walled city, now deteriorated, overcrowded and suffering from bad sanitation.

The "palace", now used as the vast office complex for the Ministry of Finance, was designed "in pure Empire style", Heuken said in his book.

But Daendels was unable to finish the work as he was replaced by Jan Willem Janssens. The building was accomplished in 1828 under the authority of Governor General Du Bus de Ghisignies.

But the "palace" was never utilized as Daendels had dreamt. The building has housed all kinds of government offices, a state printing press, a post office and the high court of the Dutch colonial administration.

"The court was transferred in 1848 to the neo-classical building located just next to the 'palace' on its northern side," Heuken wrote.

Statue

Originally, the building had a monument to Jan Pieterszoon Coen installed a few meters in front of the office complex and a statue of a lion erected on a high column at the center of the huge field in front of the building. The lion was the symbol of the colonial government.

The presence of the lion statue led people at the time to call the field Lapangan Singa (Lion's Square).

According to Heuken, the statue was designed as a memorial for the famous Battle of Waterloo. The square was then called Waterlooplein, he added.

The lion statue, Heuken wrote, was destroyed by Japanese colonialists, while the Coen statue was dismantled after the independence of Indonesia.

The new name of the square, Lapangan Banteng, was introduced by the Indonesian government following the 1945 Independence. There are several versions of the history of the name.

Some local reports imply that the new name was derived from the fact that the area was once used for bull hunting.

But Candrian said the name was taken from the symbol of the Indonesian National Party (PNI), a leading political party at that time.

"Thank God that the square was not named Lapangan Beringin (Banyan Tree Square) after the biggest political party, Golkar," he said, referring to the powerful party during Soeharto era that uses a banyan tree as its symbol.

The fame and splendor of the Daendels' "palace", the Waterloo Square, and the Weltevreden area still persist these days and are relatively still well maintained compared to other old complexes in the city.

The square is now the site of a huge football field surrounded by big trees and busy streets.

The square has become a popular site for homosexuals and gigolos at night time.