LAWANG SEWU : SEMARANG

Lawang Sewu is a historic building owned by PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) which was originally used as the Head Office of the Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij (NISM) private railway. The Lawang Sewu building was built in stages on an area of ​​18,232 m2. The main building began on February 27, 1904 and was completed in July 1907. While the additional buildings were built around 1916 and completed in 1918. The building was designed by Prof. Jakob F. Klinkhamer and B.J. Ouendag, an architect from Amsterdam with a dominant characteristic of curved and simple elements. The building is designed to resemble the letter L and has a large number of windows and doors as an air circulation system. Because of the large number of doors, the people named it Lawang Sewu which means a thousand doors. In addition to its unique building design, Lawang Sewu has stained glass ornaments manufactured by Johannes Lourens Schouten. The stained glass tells about the prosperity and beauty of Java, the Dutch rule over Semarang and Batavia, maritime cities and the glory of the railroad. Other decorations on Lawang Sewu include pottery ornaments on the curved plane above the balcony, a small dome at the top of the water tower covered in copper, and the spire with bronze ornaments. Currently the Lawang Sewu Building is used as a museum that presents various collections from time to time for railways in Indonesia. The collections on display include: Alkmaar collections, Edmonson machines, Computing Machines, Typewriters, Steam Locomotive Replicas, Securities and others. Lawang Sewu presents the process of restoring the Lawang Sewu building which consists of photos, videos, and restoration materials. Approaching the exit, there is a library filled with books about trains. In addition to being a historical tourist spot, Lawang Sewu Building can also be rented for exhibition activities, meeting rooms, photo shoots, shooting, wedding parties, festivals, bazaars, art performances, workshops, etc. #historicculture#beautifulsunsets#nationalpark