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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

() in the administrative city of

Central Jakarta Central Jakarta (, ), abbreviated as Jakpus, is one of the five Cities of Indonesia, administrative cities () and ''de facto'' Capital City of the Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

.. 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 and during the Dutch colonial times as ), is one of seven presidential palaces in Indonesia. It is located on the north side of the Merdeka Square, Jakarta, Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta, In ...

(the presidential palace of Indonesia), the

National Museum A national museum can be 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 the United States, most nati ...

, the headquarters of the Indonesian Scout Movement and the Merdeka Square (in which stands the

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

) are among these. One of the busiest railway stations, Gambir Station, 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 () 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 the Dutch East Indian '' ...

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 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 military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1808 to 1811. Early life Herman Willem Daendels was born on 21 October 1 ...

, 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 and the smallest administrative division of Indonesia below a district, regency/city, and province. Similar administrative divisions outside of Indonesia include barangays in t ...

'' 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 * Gambir Station *Governor Office of DKI Jakarta * Immanuel Church *

* Merdeka Square *

Monas The National Monument (, abbreviated Monas) is a 132 m (433 ft) obelisk in the centre of Merdeka Square, Jakarta, Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta. It is the national monument of the Republic of Indonesia, built to commemorate the Indon ...

*National Gallery *

* Taman Prasasti Museum

References

Cited works

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