(Source: Wikipedia & Google Image)
Bandung (
) (
Sundanese:
ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ,
Indonesian:
Kota Bandung), is the capital of
West Java province in
Indonesia and Indonesia's fourth largest city after
Jakarta,
Surabaya and
Medan,
[1][2] make it the third largest city by population, with over 2.4 million, and
Greater Bandung made up of 2 municipalities and 38 districts, making it the nation's 2nd largest metropolitan area with 6,965,655 inhabitants at the 2010 census.
[3] Located 768 metres (2,520 ft)
above sea level, approximately 140 kilometres (87 miles) south east of
Jakarta, Bandung has cooler temperatures year-round than most other
Indonesian cities. The city lies on a
river basin surrounded by
volcanicmountains. This topography provides a natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the
Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the colony capital from Batavia (modern-day
Jakarta) to Bandung.
The Dutch colonials first established tea plantations around the mountains in the eighteenth century, and a road was constructed to connect the plantation area to the colonial capital
Batavia (180 kilometres (112 miles) to the northwest). The Dutch inhabitants of Bandung demanded establishment of a municipality (
gemeente), which was granted in 1906, and Bandung gradually developed into a resort city for plantation owners. Luxurious hotels, restaurants, cafes and European boutiques were opened, hence the city was nicknamed
Parijs van Java (
Dutch:
"The Paris of Java").
After
Indonesia declared independence in 1945, the city experienced rapid development and urbanization, transforming Bandung from an idyllic town into a dense 16,500 people/km
2 (per square kilometer) metropolitan area, a living space for over 2.5 million people. Natural resources have been heavily exploited, particularly by conversion of protected upland area into highland villas and real estate and, although the city has encountered many problems (ranging from waste disposal and floods to a complicated traffic system and lack of road infrastructure), Bandung still attracts large numbers of tourists, weekend sightseers and migrants from other parts of Indonesia.
Geography
Bandung, the capital of
West Java province, located about 180 kilometres (110 mi) southeast of
Jakarta, is the third largest city in
Indonesia. Its elevation is 768 metres (2,520 ft)
above sea level and is surrounded by up to 2,400 m (7,874 ft) high
Late Tertiary and
Quaternary volcanic terrain.
[4] The 400 km
2 flat of central Bandung plain is situated in the middle of 2,340.88 km
2 wide of the Bandung
Basin; the basin comprises Bandung, the
Cimahi city, part of
Bandung Regency, part of
West Bandung Regency, and part of
Sumedang Regency.
[5] The basin's main river is the
Citarum; one of its branches, the
Cikapundung, divides Bandung from north to south before it merges with Citarum again in Dayeuhkolot. The Bandung Basin is an important source of water for potable water, irrigation and fisheries, with its 6,147 million m³ of groundwater being a major reservoir for the city.
The northern section of Bandung is hillier than other parts of the city, and the distinguished truncated flat-peak shape of the
Tangkuban Perahu volcano (
Tangkuban Perahu literally means 'upside-down boat') can be seen from the city to the north. Long-term volcanic activity has created fertile
andisol soil in the north, suitable for intensive
rice,
fruit,
tea,
tobacco and
coffee plantations. In the
south and
east,
alluvial soils deposited by the Cikapundung river predominate.
- geography Geological data shows that the Bandung Basin is located on an ancient volcano, known as Mount Sunda, erected up to 3,000–4,000 metres (9,850–13,100 ft) during the Pleistocene age.[6] Two large-scale eruptions took place; the first formed the basin and the second (est. 55,000 Before Present) blocked the Citarum river, turning the basin into a lake known as "the Great Prehistoric Lake of Bandung".[7] The lake drained away; for reasons which are the subject of ongoing debate among geologists.
History[edit]
Jalan Braga circa 1935-1938
The official name of the city during the colonial Dutch East Indies period wasBandoeng.
The earliest reference to the area dates back to 1488, although archaeological findings suggest a type of
Homo erectus species had long previously lived on the banks of the Cikapundung River and around the old lake of Bandung.
[11] During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the
Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) established plantations in the Bandung area. In 1786, a supply road connecting Batavia (now
Jakarta),
Bogor,
Cianjur, Bandung,
Sumedang and
Cirebon was constructed. In 1809,
Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor and conqueror of much of Europe including the
Netherlands and its colonies, ordered the Dutch Indies Governor
H.W. Daendels to improve the defensive systems of
Java to protect against the British in India. Daendels built a road, stretching approximately 1,000 km (620 mi) from the west to the east coast of Java, passing through Bandung.
[12][13] In 1810, the road was laid down in Bandung and was named
De Groote Postweg (or the 'Great Post Road'), the present-day location of Asia-Afrika Street. Under Daendels' orders, R.A. Wiranatakusumah II, the Chief Administrator of the Bandung regency at that time, moved office from Krapyak, in the south, to a place near a pair of holy city wells (
sumur Bandung), the present-day site of the city square (
alun-alun). He built his
dalem (palace),
masjid agung (the grand mosque) and
pendopo (public-official meeting place) in the classical Sundanese orientation,
[14] with the pendopo facing
Tangkuban Perahu mountain, which was believed to have a mystical ambience.
In 1880, the first major railroad between Batavia and Bandung was completed,
[15] boosting light industry in Bandung.
Chinese flocked in to the city to help run facilities, services and as vendors. The area adjacent to the train station is still recognisable as the old Chinatown district. In 1906, Bandung was given the status of
gemeente (municipality) and then twenty years later
stadsgemeente (city municipality).
Beginning of time the early 1920s, the Dutch East Indies government made plans to move their capital from Batavia to Bandung. Accordingly, during this decade, the Dutch colonial government commenced construction of military barracks, the central government building (
Gouvernments Bedrijven, the present-day
Gedung Sate) and other government buildings. However, this plan, was cut short by
World War II, after which the Dutch were not able to re-establish their colony due to the Indonesian Declaration of Independence.
The fertile area of the Parahyangan Mountains surrounding Bandung supports productive
tea plantations. In the nineteenth century,
Franz Junghuhn introduced the
cinchona (
kina) plant.
[16] With its cooler elevated landscape, surrounded by major plantations, Bandung became an exclusive European resort area.
[17] Rich plantation owners visited the city on weekends, attracting ladies and business people from the capital, Batavia.
Braga Street grew into a promenade street with cafes, restaurants and boutique shops. Two art-deco style hotels, Savoy Homann and Preanger, were built in the vicinity of the Concordia Society, a club house for the wealthy with a large ballroom and a theatre.
[15] The nickname "
Parijs van Java" was given to the city.
Gedung Merdeka (Merdeka Building) during the Asian-African Conference in 1955
After the
Indonesian Independence in 1945, Bandung was designated the capital of
West Java province. During the
1945-1949 independence struggle against the
Netherlandsseeking to retake its colonies in the "Dutch East Indies", some of the heaviest battles occurred in and around Bandung. At the end of World War II Dutch troops were virtually absent in Java. To assist the restoration of Dutch sovereignty, the
British took a military hold on Java's major cities, and the British military commander set an ultimatum for the Indonesian combatants in Bandung to leave the city. In response, on 24 March 1946, much of the southern part of Bandung was deliberately set alight as the combatants left; an event known as
Bandung Lautan Api or the 'Bandung Sea of Fire'.
[18]
In 1955, the first
Asian-African Conference - also known as the
Bandung Conference - was hosted in Bandung by President
Soekarno, and attended by the heads of states representing twenty-nine independent countries from Asia and Africa.
[19] The conference venue was at the
Gedung Merdeka, the former Concordia Society building. The conference announced 10 points of declaration for the promotion of world peace promotion and for opposition against colonialism, and is known as the Declaration of Bandung. This was followed by a wave of nationalism movements around the globe which remapped world politics. The conference was also the first international conference of people of color in the history of mankind.
Richard Wright in his book,
The Color Curtain, claims that there was epic meaning of the conference for people of color around the world.
In 2005, an Asian-African Conference was partly held in Bandung, attended by world leaders such as Indonesian President Susilo B. Yudhoyono, President of
ChinaHu Jintao, Prime Minister of
India Manmohan Singh, President of
South Africa Thabo Mbeki, President of
Nigeria Obasanjo, and other luminaries.
In 1987, the city boundary was expanded by the 'Greater Bandung' (
Bandung Raya) plan; with a relocation of higher concentration development zones outside the city in an attempt to dilute population density in the old city. During this development, the
city core was often uprooted, with old buildings torn down, lot sizes regrouped and rezoned, changing idyllic residential areas to commercial zones with bustling chain supermarkets, malls, banks and upscale developments.
Main attractions[edit]
Bandung is home to numerous examples of Dutch colonial architecture; most notably the tropical Art Deco, dubbed
New Indies Style.
Henri Maclaine-Pont was among the first Dutch architects to recognise the importance of combining each architectural style with local cultural traditions. He stressed that modern architecture should interact with local history and native elements.
[29] In 1920, Pont planned and designed buildings for the first technical university in the
Dutch East Indies,
Technische Hogeschool te Bandung (the present-day
Institut Teknologi Bandung), after which he was named as a Professor of Architecture at the university. A striking local Sundanese roof style is clearly seen adorning the top of the campus' ceremonial hall, and is embedded in his artwork.
[29]
The Savoy homann hotel architectural design by
Albert Aalbers in 1939 is one of the most significant examples of the Art Deco style for which Bandung is renowned
In the same year, another Dutch architect J Gerber designed
Gouverments Bedrijven (Government Companies) in line with the colonial government plan to move the capital from Batavia to Bandung. The building is an example of a harmonious mixture between West and East architectural styles, particularly the
Italian Renaissance style of
arch structures in the wings and
pendopo-like structures commonly found in Java in the middle section. The building is known as
Gedung Sate, named after the distinguished small
satay-shaped structure on the roof, and is today used as the head office of the
West Java provincial government and House of Representatives.
The architectural blending of modern and native traditional was followed by several Dutch architects who shaped the city landmarks. In the 1930s, Bandung became known as an architectural laboratory due to the many Dutch architects who experimented with new architectural designs.
Albert Aalbers added the
streamline moderne style to the Art Deco by designing the DENIS bank (1936) and renovated the Savoy Homann Hotel (1939).
C.P.W. Schoemaker was one of architects who strongly added native elements in his artworks, including the
Villa Isola (1932), Hotel Preanger (1929), the regional military headquarter (1918),
Gedung Merdeka (1921) and ITB Rectorate Building (1925).
Culture[edit]
Bandung is considered a major & significant cultural hub in Indonesia. Most people in the surrounding province of West Java are
Sundanese.
Sundanese languageis often spoken as the first language and is commonly used as informal language for communication in streets, school, campus, work and markets, while
Indonesian—Indonesia's national language and a
lingua franca among its many ethnic units — is used as the lingua franca, the official language and the language of government, businesses, and instruction at schools.
Tourism[edit]
Denim store, Cihampelas Street
Bandung is a popular weekend destination for residents of
Jakarta. The cooler climate of the highland plantation area, the varieties of food, the cheaper fashion shops located in factory outlets and distros, golf courses, and the
zoo, are some of the attractions of the city.
[30] Bandung is also a popular shopping destination due to cheap textile and fashion products, especially for
Malaysian and
Singaporean tourists.
[31]
In the 1990s, local designers opened denim clothing stores along Cihampelas Street, which was transformed into a "jeans street". The city attracts people from other big cities to buy local fashion wares, as they are cheaper than branded items.
[32] Beside at Cihampelas Street, many factory outlets also opened at Riau Street, Setiabudi Street, and
Djuanda Street (known as
Dago). Textile factories on the outskirts of Bandung have opened factory outlets on site selling what is marketed as
sisa export (rejected or over-produced export quality items).
[33] Bandung Supermal, Bandung Indah Plaza, Ciwalk
[clarification needed] (abbreviation of Cihampelas Walk) and
Paris van Java are popular shopping centres in Bandung.
Significant tourist sites near Bandung include the
Tangkuban Prahu volcano crater to the north, the striking
Kawah Putih volcano lake, and
Patenggang Lake, a lake surrounded by tea plantations about 50 kilometres (31 miles) to the south of the city.
To view the Bandung Basin clearly in its mountain surroundings, visitors travel to the Bongkor protected forest area (kawasan hutan lindung), Saung Daweung and Arcamanik; to the slopes of West Manglayang Mountain in an area known as Caringin Tilu, with entry from Padasuka and Cicaheum to the north. The forest is located in 1,500 above sea level and is covered with pine trees managed by a government corporation
Perhutani and can be accessed with 30 minutes drive from downtown.
[34][35] Visitors going to the north of the city also find
Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Djuanda. The Cicaheum area also hosts
Bukit Moko, a tourist spot famous for its views and its steel statue of a giant star called
Puncak Bintang. Bandung has several museums that should be visited by tourists, such as the
Geological Museum of Bandung, the
Indonesia Postal Museum,
Sri Baduga Museum, and the
Asian-African Conference Museum.
