Introduction
The largest city and capital of Indonesia, Jakarta is a major trade and financial center. It is also an important city for manufacturing and a center for education. The Dutch, who ruled Indonesia until 1949, called the city Batavia.
Jakarta lies at the mouth of the Ciliwung (Liwung River) on the northwest coast of the island of Java. The city has an area of 228 square miles (590 square kilometers) and lies on a low, flat plain with large swampy areas. It floods easily during the rainy season. The parts of the city away from the coast are on slightly higher land.
Places of interest
Jakarta has many places for tourists to visit. The heart of downtown Jakarta is Merdeka Square. The square is the site of the Independence Day parade every August. At the center of the square rises the National Monument. Also in the square is the Istiqlal Mosque, one of the largest in Southeast Asia. The presidential palace lies to the north of the square.
The part of the city that is near the river is the Old City. It has Dutch colonial buildings and narrow, winding streets. It is the country's business center. In the Old City are the old port, the Dutch town hall, and a square. These have been restored. The town hall is a museum now. The Portuguese Church, completed in 1695, has also been repaired and cleaned. Glodok, the Chinese part of the city, has many old temples. Two amusement parks, Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature and Ancol, are specially designed for foreign tourists.
Culture
Gamelan music, in which percussion instruments are key, and shadow-puppet shows are popular in Jakarta. The Taman Ismail Marzuki, a cultural center, presents these and other traditional art performances, such as dances and plays. The center also has theaters for presenting modern plays and concerts.
Economy
The city is a center of finance and banking. Its factories produce such goods as margarine, soap, leather, textiles, food, machines, cigarettes, paper, glass items, wire cable, aluminum, and, more recently, products for cars. Movies are also made in the city.
History
The first settlements on the site of Jakarta were established as early as the 5th century AD. Eventually the site developed into the port of Sunda Kelapa. In the early 1500s the Portuguese became the first Europeans to arrive in the area. The city's official history starts in 1527, when a local ruler defeated the Portuguese there and called the place Jayakerta. The Dutch captured and destroyed the city in 1619. They then constructed a new town and named it Batavia.
The Dutch East India Company ruled Batavia until 1799, when the company was shut down and the Dutch government took over the colony. Batavia briefly came under British rule in the early 1800s but was returned to the Dutch in 1816.
During World War II, Indonesia was taken over by Japanese forces. After the war, the city was returned to the Dutch. Indonesia gained independence in 1949, and the name of the city was changed to Djakarta. In 1972 it became Jakarta. Population (1996 estimate), 9,341,000.
