Semarang City Celebrates its 461 Years of Age.

Semarang City celebrates its 461 years of age.



On May 2^nd 2008 Semarang City celebrated its 461^st birthday. A lot of historical momentums were experienced by this old city during its journey of life. The existence of many old buildings has proven the long history of the city, the capital of the Central Java province.

The first historical momentum was the construction of the Stasiun Kemijen in June 7^th 1864 that marked the development of the first railway track in The Java Island. The work was led by Governor General Mr. Baron Sloet Van De Beele (1861-1866). Few other buildings that related with train history at the city are Stasiun Tawang that built in 1911, PT. Kereta Api Daop IV Semarang building (1930), and The Nederlandsch Indische Spoorweg Matschapij’s (NIS) building constructed in 1902 (well-known as Lawang Sewu). Another monumental building in Semarang that built by The Dutch Government is Blenduk Church, a Protestant church that built in 1753. It is located in the old town (called "Oudstad").

Semarang city is located on the north Coast of Java Sea. Situated on Java's northern coast, Semarang City lies just about halfway between the extreme east and west coasts of the island. As the one of five major cities in the nation Semarang is a busy administrative and trading city. Most of the offices, business centers, industrial estates are concentrated in the low land, where as in the hilly side, there are many houses with the beautiful gardens with a superb view to the town and the sea.

The population of Semarang City is predominantly Javanese, with smaller numbers of people from many regions in Indonesia. The city is also known for its large ethnically Chinese population. As a result, the city boasts several Chinese temples such as Sam Po Kong (Kedung Batu) that built in honor of the Chinese Great Admiral Zheng He who visited the area in 1405, and Tay Kak Sie Temple.

In front of The Lawang Sewu building stands a monument called Tugu Muda (Youth Monument), a monument in honor of heroes of Indonesia's independence struggle.

Happy Birthday, Semarang. Long live, and may God Bless you.