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10 Interesting Facts about the Taman Prasasti Museum

Rachelle Kandou

Who said going to a cemetery was scary? Here we can add insight, you know. Let's see more in here!

Oleh Muhammad Zamroni, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikipedia)
 
Museums are known as places where we can see various kinds of collections that are protected and have high historical value. However, it is different from the Taman Prasasti Museum. The Taman Prasasti Museum is a cemetery for various famous figures from the Dutch colonial era to the Indonesian revolutionary era. It is located not far from the Elephant Museum. The following are 10 interesting facts about the Taman Prasasti Museum that are interesting to know.
 
 
1. Previously called Kerkhof Laan or Kebon Jahe Kober Cemetery. This place is often also called the Tanah Abang Dutch Cemetery. When the Dutch government was created, this cemetery was because the cemetery in the Old City called the Nieuw Hollandsche Kerk Cemetery was full, to be precise, what is now the Wayang Museum. And in his time, only certain groups were allowed to be buried in this place.

2. This cemetery was founded in 1795 because at that time there was an epidemic which caused many people to die, including the Dutch people who lived in Batavia. Because the death rate at that time increased sharply, causing the Nieuw Hollandsche Kerk cemetery to be full. This prompted the Dutch government to build a new burial place. Finally, Kerkhof Laan or Tanah Abang Dutch Cemetery was built. On September 28, 1797, it was officially opened to the public, although since 1795 someone had already been buried there.

3. Previously, this cemetery had an area of ​​5.5ha. Currently, the area is only 1.3 ha. Unfortunately, this is due to the rapid development of the city which has taken up this burial land.
 

Oleh Hariadhi - http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkas:Tamanprasasti.jpg, GFDL (Wikipedia)
 
4. Most of the cemeteries in the Nieuw Hollandsche Kerk were moved here and marked HK.

5. The Taman Prasasti Museum has 1,372 tombs, which are made of natural stone, marble, and bronze. It could be said that this cemetery is luxurious in its time until now. The design of the cemetery is beautiful and makes visitors feel like they are in Europe.

6. Several figures buried here include:
• A.V. Michiels was a Dutch military figure during the Buleleng War.
•Dr. H.F. Roll was the founder of STOVIA or known as the Medical School during the Dutch government.
• J.H.R. Kohler was a Dutch military figure during the Aceh war
• Olivia Marianne Raffles is the wife of Thomas Stamford Raffles. During British rule in Indonesia, he served as British Governor General for the Dutch East Indies, Singapore, and Bengkulu.
• Kapitan Jas, whose grave is believed by some people to provide fertility, safety, prosperity, and happiness.
• Miss Riboet who was a famous opera character in the 1930s
• Soe Hok Gie, a student movement activist in the 1960s.
• Archbishop of Jakarta: Adam Carel Claessens, Pr., Walterus Staal, S.J., Edmundus Luypen, S.J.
 
7. Here there are also coffins used by the former President and First Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta. Another interesting fact, in this place there are also graves of members of the Freemason and Illuminati sects who lived during the Dutch rule in Batavia.
 
 
8. The position of this tomb is on the edge of the Krukut River. So the traffic for transporting bodies is usually carried out through this river along with families who accompany them from the city center, which is now Kota Tua. Then, after approaching the cemetery, the body was picked up by horse-drawn carriage to be transported to the burial area. Uniquely, there is a bell in the cemetery which will be rung by the cemetery caretaker when the body to be buried immediately enters the cemetery complex to be buried.

9. This cemetery was once crowned as the oldest modern cemetery in the world compared to Fort Canning Park which was founded in 1926 in Singapore, Gore Hill Cemetery which was founded in 1868 in Sydney, Père Lachaise Cemetery which was founded in 1803 in Paris, and Mount Auburn Cemetery which was founded in 1831 in Massachusetts.

10. This museum was inaugurated by the former Governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin, in 1977. Currently, the Taman Prasasti Museum is managed by the Jakarta History Museum.

Those are 10 facts you should know before you visit one of the oldest cemeteries in the world. Want to know other exciting places? Stay tuned at www.alinear.id, okay...! Or follow our IG (@alinear.id) to get the latest posts!

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