National Museum in Jakarta

National Museum in Jakarta is famous among the tourists as Gedung Gajah meaning the Elephant Building. As you visit Jakarta in Indonesia, you should not miss out on the National Museum located on the western side of Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta. Whether you want to explore the historical details, the ancient heritage, archaeological minutes or the anthropological evolution of Indonesia since the Stone Age, you will have to come to National Museum in Jakarta.

National Museum in Jakarta was built by J.M.C. Rademacher, one of the founders of Batavia Association of Arts and Sciences in 1778. According to history, some Dutch intellectuals had formed Batavia Society for Arts and Science for encouraging research in the field of arts and sciences. Radermacher had gifted a building to begin a museum for the society. Later in 19th century, General Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles constructed a new arena on Jalan Majapahit and named it the Literary Society. It was only in 1862, when the Dutch East Indian government thought of erecting a new museum for collection and display of artifacts and other minutes. As a result, this museum was inaugurated for common men in 1868. It came to be known as Gedung Gajah because of the bronze elephant statue donated by King Chulalongkorn of Thailand in 1871 and kept in the front yard. It was also known as Gedung Arca (House of Statues)
due to the collection of statues. It was transferred to the Indonesian government on September 17, 1962, which was renamed the Museum Nasional in 1979. A project of expansion was taken up in 1994 and a new building was constructed for cultural performances and exhibitions.

Features of National Museum in Jakarta

  -  You must watch the numismatic collections with more than 200 items and the sculptures from Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic locales in the religious section.
  -  You should also visit the Treasure Rooms having the Archaeology Room and the Ethnography Room.
  -  You will be impressed by the variety of items in metals manufactured out of casting, soldering, riveting, chiseling and the repousse technique
  -  There are some gold and silver items of total weight of 35 kilograms, which are thought to have been buried in Lava in the early10th century in Archaeology Room
  -  There are precious stones from 18th to the early 20th centuries in Ethnography Room.
  -  The stone statues mainly found in Central Java and Sumatra, speak a lot about religious practices and architectural evolution grown under the mixed influences of Hindu and Buddhist culture.
  -  Ceramic collection consist of relics from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan and Indonesia

Fast Facts about National Museum in Jakarta

Location: Jl. Merdeka Barat No. 12, Jakarta.
Open: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm except on Friday (8:30 am to 11:30 am) and Saturday (8:30 am to 1:30 pm).
Closed on Monday
Phone Number: (021)-3811551, (021)-3868172, Fax. (021)-3811076