FIELD TRIP PART 3

MY FIELD TRIP AND MEET THE FOREIGN

IN YOGYAKARTA

Hi hi hi…

In this posting, I want to tell you about my field trip. For the last, I visited the tourist attraction “Museum Vredeburg”. I will tell you a little history about this museum. 

Fort Vredeburg Museum (Official Indonesian name, Museum Benteng Vredeburg Yogyakarta), was a former colonial fortress located in the city of Yogyakarta. The military complex has been converted into an Independence Struggle Museum which was opened in 1992. It is located in front of Gedung Agung and Kraton Yogyakarta (Sultan's Palace).

In 1760, after developing of the new Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, the Dutch governor of North Java coast Nicolaas Harting ask a fort to be built in Yogyakarta. The barracks was built on a plot provided by Sultan Hamengkubuwono I, the first fort was a simple wooden fort with four bastion. Later in 1767 the fortress was extended and converted into a more permanent structure under supervision of a Dutch architect Frans Haak. After its finished in 1787 the fort was named Fort Rustenburg(“Resting fort” in Dutch).

On 1867 the old fort was destroyed by an earthquake. The fort was rebuilt and renamed Fort Vredeburg, which in Dutch language means “Peace fort” due to peaceful co-existence of the fort and the Kraton of the Sultan.

Later in 1942, during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the fortress was took over by the Japanese army and made into the army’s headquarters and war prison. After the Japanese left in 1945, Fort Vredeburg served the Indonesian Army as military command post, barracks and prison for suspected members.

When I visited Vredeburg fort, there was one of the foreign tourists who didn't understand with the castle plan, me and my friend helped him. We finally got to know the tourist. He's called Wick, he's from Holland. He came to Indonesia just for the holidays.  He is a humble person, friendly and funny, so I am a lucky person who can meet him. He tells a lot about his country, in the Netherlands also has a Museum like in Indonesia as Vredebrug Museum. The difference between Vredeburg Museum in Indonesia with Vredebrug Museum in the Netherlands is in Indonesia we buy tickets first and visitors can enter but in the Netherlands we do not need to buy tickets and around the area should be clean.

Thank you ….