Gambir is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Central Jakarta Central Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Pusat) is one of the five administrative cities () which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,056,896 at the 2 ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It is characterized by many historic buildings from the colonial era. It hosts some of the foremost political and learning/tourism features of the capital. The

Merdeka Palace The Merdeka Palace (; also known in Indonesian as ''Istana Gambir'' and during the Dutch colonial times as ''Paleis te Koningsplein''), is one of six presidential palaces in Indonesia. It is located on the north side of the Merdeka Square in Cen ...

(the presidential palace of Indonesia), the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

, the headquarters of the Indonesian Scout Movement and the Merdeka Square (in which stands the National Monument) are among these. One of the busiest railway stations,

Gambir Station Gambir Train Station ( id, Stasiun Gambir, station code: GMR) is a major railway station in Gambir, Gambir, Central Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. The station is located on the eastern side of Merdeka Square. It was built during the Dutch East ...

, is in the focal Gambir neighbourhood (an underlying Administrative Village as the translation is usually rendered) of the district. The City Hall of Central Jakarta is in Petojo Selatan here.

Limits

Gambir is bordered by the

Jakarta Flood Canal The Jakarta Flood Canal ( id, Kanal Banjir Jakarta) refers to two canals that divert floods from rivers around Jakarta instead of going through the city. This first flood control channel was designed by Hendrik van Breen, an engineer working for ...

to the west, the river Ciliwung to the east, KH Zainul Arifin and Sukarjo Wiryopranoto Road to the north, and Kebon Sirih Raya Road to the south.

Toponym

The name ''Gambir'' is taken from the name of a Dutch lieutenant of French descent named Gambier, the lieutenant whom Daendels assigned to pave the way to the south.Pradaningrum Mijart
Pasar Gambir Puluhan Tahun Lalu
. Kompas daring. Edisi 29 Agustus 2009.

History

The area that is now Gambir District was originally a southern hinterland of

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

with marshes and known for the gambier plant. A kampung settlement existed under the name Kampung Gambir. In the 18th century, a landowner known as Anthony Paviljoen began to develop the area and later rented them to Chinese people who further developed the land as an agricultural land. When old Batavia (Jakarta) on the shore was abandoned save for its port aspects in favor of the healthier and cleaner southern neighborhood, the Gambir area was gradually urbanized and developed. During the government of

Daendels Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch revolutionary, general and politician who served as the 36th Governor General of the Dutch East Indies between 1808 and 1811. Early life Born in Hattem, Netherlands, on 21 Octobe ...

, the center of administration was moved from the old Batavia to Gambir area. The area became widely known as Weltevreden until 1931, after which it officially became Batavia Centrum (Central Batavia). The area around the large field was characteristically surrounded with colonial buildings, mansions, and other civic facilities. Some of these buildings are restored and have become landmarks of Jakarta, such as the Willemskerk (now the Immanuel Church) and The Batavian Society of Arts and Science (now the

Kelurahan (Administrative Villages)

The district of Gambir is divided into six ''

kelurahan In Indonesia, village or subdistrict is the fourth-level subdivision below a district, regency/city, and province. There are a number of names and types for villages in Indonesia, with ''desa'' (rural village) being the most frequently used for re ...

'' or administrative villages: * Gambir - area code 10110 * Kebon Kelapa - area code 10120 * Petojo Selatan - area code 10130 * Duri Pulo - area code 10140 * Cideng - area code 10150 * Petojo Utara - area code 10160

List of important places

*City Hall of Central Jakarta *

*Governor Office of DKI Jakarta * Immanuel Church *

* Merdeka Square *

Monas The National Monument ( id, Monumen Nasional, abbreviated Monas) is a 132 m (433 ft) obelisk in the centre of Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta, symbolizing the fight for Indonesia. It is the national monument of the Republic of Indones ...

*National Gallery *

Taman Prasasti Museum Museum Taman Prasasti (Indonesian for Museum of Memorial Stone Park or Inscription Museum) is a museum located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum was formerly a cemetery, built by the Dutch colonial government in 1795 as a final resting place for ...

References

Cited works

* {{coord, -6.175, 106.825, display=title Districts of Jakarta