Sawah Besar
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Sawah Besar 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 ...
(''kecamatan'') of
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 ...
. Its neighborhoods are among the most historic, containing the 1820-established
Pasar Baru Pasar Baru is an administrative village in the Sawah Besar subdistrict (kecamatan) in Central Jakarta of Indonesia. It has postal code of 10710. Pasar Baru is also the name of a 19th-century market which was established in the neighborhood and ga ...
("New Market"), the new colonial city – Weltevreden – and the old course of the Ciliwung river. Landmarks include the
Lapangan Banteng Lapangan Banteng (Indonesian: "Bull's Field", formerly Waterloo Square (Dutch: Waterlooplein) in Batavia, Dutch East Indies) is a historic square located in a historic area formerly known as ''Weltevreden'', today Sawah Besar subdistrict, Central ...
(formerly Waterloo Square), the government's 19th century-built, low-rise A.A. Maramis Building and its high palmed-lawned vista (being the intended palace of Daendels), and
Jakarta Cathedral Jakarta Cathedral ( id, Gereja Katedral Jakarta, nl, Kathedraal van Jakarta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is also the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Jakarta, currently Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatm ...
.


Toponym

Sawah Besar means "big paddy field". The name ''Sawah Besar'' refers to the paddy field which existed in the area before the 1860s. This paddy field, measuring around , was to the east of the southern section of Molenvliet Oost (now Jalan Hayam Wuruk), south of Kebon Jeruk ("orange orchard") and west of the extensive Chinese cemetery (now Kelurahan Karang Anyar). Before the 1860s, the paddy field was the only one left in the city center of Batavia. Gradually, the paddy field was urbanized and in the late 19th-century, the entire field had been converted into a kampung known as Kampung Sawah Besar. The name ''Sawah Besar'', also spelled as ''Sawah Besaar'' during colonial time, was given to the street Sawah Besar, south of what used to be the paddy field. Sawah Besar Street also formed the northern section of the defensive line of the new southern colonial administrative center of Batavia, the Weltevreden. In the late 19th-century, a new railway stop was established at the east end of the street; the name Sawah Besaar was given to the railway stop, which later would become
Sawah Besar railway station Sawah Besar Station (formerly Sawah Besaar Station) is a railway station, located on Jl. Kyai Haji Samanhudi. Altitude this station is 15 meters amsl, this station is one of seven elevated stations on Jakarta railway's Jakarta Kota–Manggarai s ...
. The Sawah Besar street was nationalized as Jalan Sukarjo Wiryopranoto in the 1950s, but the Station still preserved its original name. Eventually, the name Sawah Besar was given to the District (kecamatan) Sawah Besar following the independence of Indonesia. The street Sawah Besar (Jalan Sukarjo Wiryopranoto) and the original district/marsh were slightly west. Sawah Besar railway station is on today's western limit.


Government

The district is divided into five ''
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:


History

The section describes the history of the region of Jakarta which corresponds to what is now the modern district (kecamatan) of Sawah Besar.


Draining of the marshes

In the 17th-century, the district of Sawah Besar corresponded to the area where the
Ciliwung Ci Liwung (often written as Ciliwung; also as Tjiliwoeng in Dutch, Sundanese: ᮎᮤᮜᮤᮝᮥᮀ) is a 119 km long river in the northwestern region of Java where it flows through two provinces, West Java and the special region of Jakarta. ...
used to flow. The riparian zone was located southeast of Batavia, outside the city wall, then known collectively as the ''ommelanden'' (the area surrounding Batavia). To establish a military presence over the new colonial land, the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
built several fortresses to guard the Ciliwung, among them the
sconce Sconce may refer to: *Sconce (fortification), a military fortification *Sconce (light fixture) *Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink *Sconce Point Fort Victoria is a former military fort on the Isle of Wight, England (), built to ...
Jacarta, established in mid-17th-century as the second fortress upstream of Ciliwung after
Batavia Castle Batavia Castle ( nl, Kasteel Batavia, ) was a fort located at the mouth of Ciliwung River in Jakarta. Batavia Castle was the administrative center of Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Asia. Batavia Castle was also the residence of the Governor G ...
. The fort had ceased to exist by 1825. The simple fort was located at what is now the kampung of Gang Budi Rahayu. Ciliwung's riparian zone in the area was characterized by unproductive marshland. To convert the marshes into arable land, canals were constructed to drain the water of the marshes into the river. By the late 17th-century, the marshland had been converted into mills, sugar plantations, fruit trees plantation and paddy field. In 1681, the flow of Ciliwung was diverted toward the east along the Postweg (now Jalan Pos) to reach another new canal, the Gunung Sahari Canal. With the diversion of the Ciliwung toward the Gunung Sahari Canal, a section of the Ciliwung between Prinsen Laan (now Jalan Mangga Besar) and Postweg (now Jalan Pos) was dried out. The old course of the Ciliwung now corresponds with Jalan Kartini XIII Dalam.


The Chinese Cemetery

In the early 19th-century, a Chinese cemetery (''Chineesche Kerkhof'') was established around the area of the old course of the Ciliwung. When it was established, the Chinese cemetery was the largest cemetery in Batavia, the total area reached in 1853. The boundary of the cemetery was the Prinsenlaan (now Jalan Mangga Besar) to the north, Kartiniweg (Jalan Kartini Raya) to the east, Chineesche Kerkweg (Jalan Raya Lautze) to the south, and Drossaersweg (Jalan Taman Sari Raya) to the west. The center of religious activity for the Chinese cemetery was an 18th-century Chinese temple located at Chineesche Kerkweg, in the southern area of the cemetery, which was originally a
landhuis A landhuis ( Dutch for "mansion, manor", plural ''landhuizen''; Indonesian: ''rumah kongsi''; Papiamento: ''kas di shon'' or ''kas grandi'') is a Dutch colonial country house, often the administrative heart of a '' particuliere land'' or private ...
belonging to
Frederick Coyett Frederick Coyett (), born in Stockholm c. 1615 or 1620, buried in Amsterdam on 17 October 1687, was a Swedish nobleman and the last colonial governor for the Dutch colony of Formosa. He was the first Swede to travel to Japan and China and became ...
. Today the Chinese temple, Vihara Buddhayana or Thie Cang Wang Pho Sat (Klenteng Sentiong), still exists. By 1825, kampung development started to encroach into the Chinese cemetery. The encroachment started from the west of Kartiniweg. Following the establishment of
Pasar Baru Pasar Baru is an administrative village in the Sawah Besar subdistrict (kecamatan) in Central Jakarta of Indonesia. It has postal code of 10710. Pasar Baru is also the name of a 19th-century market which was established in the neighborhood and ga ...
in the late 19th-century, urbanization started to encroach the cemetery land from the south, starting with the development of houses north of Pintu Besi street (now Jalan K.H. Samanhudi). The developed kampung was then known as Kampung Karang Anjar, which later gave its name to kelurahan Karang Anyar. Eventually, by the 1930s, the remaining cemetery area was reserved for future city-building projects by the colonial government. Following the independence of Indonesia, the first streets were built from Jalan Raya Mangga Besar into the Chinese cemetery in the early 1970s. Eventually, by the end of the 1970s, the area that used to be the largest Chinese Cemetery in Jakarta was completely converted into an urbanized area. Today, the entire kelurahan Karang Anyar and the western half of kelurahan Kartini stands on what used to be the largest cemetery in Jakarta.


Weltevreden

In 1787, the extensive private estate of Weltevreden (Dutch "well-contented") was established in what is now the southern half of the kelurahan
Pasar Baru Pasar Baru is an administrative village in the Sawah Besar subdistrict (kecamatan) in Central Jakarta of Indonesia. It has postal code of 10710. Pasar Baru is also the name of a 19th-century market which was established in the neighborhood and ga ...
. Weltevreden estate was bounded by the streets Postweg (now Jalan Pos) - Schoolweg Noord (Jalan Dr. Sutomo) to the north; Jalan Gunung Sahari and Jalan Pasar Senen to the east; Jalan Prapatan to the south; and the
Ciliwung Ci Liwung (often written as Ciliwung; also as Tjiliwoeng in Dutch, Sundanese: ᮎᮤᮜᮤᮝᮥᮀ) is a 119 km long river in the northwestern region of Java where it flows through two provinces, West Java and the special region of Jakarta. ...
to the west. In 1808, Weltevreden estate was sold to the government. The area was designated as a new colonial administrative center of Batavia, replacing the dilapidated Oud Batavia near the port of
Sunda Kelapa Sunda Kelapa ( su, , Sunda Kalapa) is the old port of Jakarta located on the estuarine of Ciliwung River. "Sunda Kalapa" (Sundanese language, Sundanese: "Coconut of Sunda") is the original name, and it was the main port of the Sunda Kingdom. The ...
. The open field Waterlooplein (now
Lapangan Banteng Lapangan Banteng (Indonesian: "Bull's Field", formerly Waterloo Square (Dutch: Waterlooplein) in Batavia, Dutch East Indies) is a historic square located in a historic area formerly known as ''Weltevreden'', today Sawah Besar subdistrict, Central ...
) was established as the center of the new colonial center. Surrounding this open field was European-centric colonial landmarks built throughout the course of the late 18th and early 19th-centuries. Among the landmarks were the grand residence of the governor-general of Batavia '' de Witte Huis'' ("White House") of the Dutch East Indies; the Roman Catholic cathedral, and
Fort Prins Frederik The Citadel Prins Frederik, also called Fort Prins Frederik, was a fortification built in 1837 by the Dutch in Batavia (now Jakarta), in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). It was located at Wilhelmina Park, which demolished around 1961 and r ...
. Weltevreden was also known as ''bovenstad'' (Dutch "uptown"), to distinguish it with the ''benedenstad'' (the Old Town). The distinction was formalized by the Batavia City Council in 1905; when Batavia and Weltevreden were the two districts which formed the municipality of Batavia. Today, the area of Weltevreden corresponds to the southern half of the kelurahan
Pasar Baru Pasar Baru is an administrative village in the Sawah Besar subdistrict (kecamatan) in Central Jakarta of Indonesia. It has postal code of 10710. Pasar Baru is also the name of a 19th-century market which was established in the neighborhood and ga ...
, south of the canal. The area today is still of considerable value given its relative proximity to
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 ...
. Many colonial and modern landmarks of Jakarta are located in this area, e.g.
Hotel Borobudur Hotel Borobudur is a five star hotel and serviced apartment located in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Conceived in the 1960s by President Sukarno, it was meant to be the second international-standard hotel to be built in the newly independent count ...
, the old and new buildings of the Ministry of Finance,
Lapangan Banteng Lapangan Banteng (Indonesian: "Bull's Field", formerly Waterloo Square (Dutch: Waterlooplein) in Batavia, Dutch East Indies) is a historic square located in a historic area formerly known as ''Weltevreden'', today Sawah Besar subdistrict, Central ...
, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, Gedung Kesenian, the Pasar Senen market, the
Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital ( id, Rumah Sakit Pusat Angkatan Darat Gatot Soebroto, Gatot Soebroto Army Central Hospital; abbreviated as RSPAD Gatot Soebroto) is a hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. The name of the hospital is derived from Gatot Soeb ...
and the central post office. Following the independence of Indonesia, the area where the colonial government once centered were taken over by the Indonesian government as the administrative center of the newly independent country. Some of the political landmark in the area were
Lapangan Banteng Lapangan Banteng (Indonesian: "Bull's Field", formerly Waterloo Square (Dutch: Waterlooplein) in Batavia, Dutch East Indies) is a historic square located in a historic area formerly known as ''Weltevreden'', today Sawah Besar subdistrict, Central ...
(converted from the military center Waterlooplein),
Hotel Borobudur Hotel Borobudur is a five star hotel and serviced apartment located in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Conceived in the 1960s by President Sukarno, it was meant to be the second international-standard hotel to be built in the newly independent count ...
(converted from a Dutch military encampment), and Istiqlal Mosque converted from
Fort Prins Frederik The Citadel Prins Frederik, also called Fort Prins Frederik, was a fortification built in 1837 by the Dutch in Batavia (now Jakarta), in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). It was located at Wilhelmina Park, which demolished around 1961 and r ...
). Many colonial buildings in the area are preserved and can still be seen today as governmental institutions.


List of important places

Below are lists of important places in Sawah Besar district. *Buildings and places located in the historic Weltevreden **
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta , image = Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, 2018.jpg , image_alt = , caption = Front entrance of ''Gedung Kesenian Jakarta'' , former_names = ''Batavia Schouwburg'' (Dutch colonial era), ''Sin'tsu Cekizyoo'' ...
br>
**Hotel Borobudu

** Istiqlal Mosque (formerly ''
Fort Prins Frederik The Citadel Prins Frederik, also called Fort Prins Frederik, was a fortification built in 1837 by the Dutch in Batavia (now Jakarta), in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). It was located at Wilhelmina Park, which demolished around 1961 and r ...
'') **
Jakarta Cathedral Jakarta Cathedral ( id, Gereja Katedral Jakarta, nl, Kathedraal van Jakarta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is also the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Jakarta, currently Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatm ...
** St. Ursula Catholic School (former ''Kleine klooster'') **
Lapangan Banteng Lapangan Banteng (Indonesian: "Bull's Field", formerly Waterloo Square (Dutch: Waterlooplein) in Batavia, Dutch East Indies) is a historic square located in a historic area formerly known as ''Weltevreden'', today Sawah Besar subdistrict, Central ...
(formerly ''Paradeplaats'', later renamed ''Waterlooplein'') **Filateli Post office (formerly ''Weltevreden Postkantoor'') ** A.A. Maramis Building (formerly ''Daendels Paleis'' or ''Groote Huis'') * Jakarta International Expo Exhibition Hall, also known as Jakarta Fair (''Pekan Raya Jakarta'') *
Pasar Baru Pasar Baru is an administrative village in the Sawah Besar subdistrict (kecamatan) in Central Jakarta of Indonesia. It has postal code of 10710. Pasar Baru is also the name of a 19th-century market which was established in the neighborhood and ga ...
* Toko Tio Tek Hong *
Messiah Cathedral Messiah Cathedral ( id, Katedral Mesias) is an Indonesian megachurch of the predominantly Indonesian-Chinese Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church ( id, Gereja Reformed Injili Indonesia (GRII)) in Kemayoran, Jakarta. It was opened on 20 Septem ...
and
Aula Simfonia Jakarta Aula Simfonia Jakarta is a 1200-capacity concert hall in Kemayoran, Jakarta. It is part of the Reformed Millennium Center Indonesia development, a development consisting of a megachurch, art gallery, library, school and theological college. Its ...


References


Cited works

* * * * {{Coord missing, Indonesia Districts of Jakarta Central Jakarta