Landhuis

Last updated
1928 coffee plantation villa in Indies style, near Magelang, Central Java. INDOEUROPE WEB.jpg
1928 coffee plantation villa in Indies style, near Magelang, Central Java.

A landhuis (Dutch for "mansion, manor", plural landhuizen; Indonesian: rumah kongsi; Papiamento: kas di shon or kas grandi) is a Dutch colonial country house, often the administrative heart of a particuliere land or private domain in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Many country houses were built by the Dutch in other colonial settlements, such as Galle, Cape Town and Curaçao, but none as extensively or elaborately as in the Residency of Batavia (an area that includes parts of modern-day Jakarta, West Java and Banten provinces). Much of Batavia's reputation as "Queen of the East" rested on the grandeur of these 18th-century mansions. [1]

Contents

They were conceived as replicas of the Dutch architecture. Later, designs included features from Javanese vernacular architecture, partly in response to the tropical climate. The result, a fusion of Western and Javanese architecture, became known later as the 'Indies Style' from the Dutch East Indies. The Indies Style is the first form of a fusion of Dutch and local architecture which gave rise to the subsequent style of early Dutch Rationalist architecture in Indonesia. Despite its heritage and protected status, many of the Indies' country houses were left to deteriorate or were demolished, often due to lack of maintenance. [1] Many of these houses were within the complex owned by the National Police. Many were transformed into dormitories with improper preservation.

History

In 17th century Netherlands, the increasing importance of Holland as a major maritime nation with a growing commercial empire, particularly in the East, had generated capital for the merchant classes of Amsterdam. These increasingly wealthy merchants began to invest their profits in second residences outside Amsterdam. This second residence, or landhuizen, ranged from modest rural retreats to luxurious manor houses, and were typically seated along the rivers Amstel and Vecht. In Batavia, a similar trend occurred in the middle 18th century. When Batavia grew increasingly unhealthy during the 18th century, wealthy Dutch East India Company officials were the first to flee and build grand houses in the surrounding countryside, typically situated between the rivers and roads that led into Batavia.

The officials of the Dutch East India Company built country houses outside the walled city Batavia when the Ommelanden (the hinterland that lay immediately beyond the walled city) had been pacified and kept free from attacks by Javanese insurgents, who were trying to evict the Dutch occupiers. This was achieved by establishing a circular line of fortified field posts at places like Antjol, Jacatra, Noordwijk, Rijswijk, Angke, and Vijfhoek; most of which were established in the middle 17th century.

The first houses were simple structures, but as time went by, these became opulent country houses in luxurious pleasure gardens, often with their own music pavilion and belfry.

Indies Style

The Indies Style appeared very pronounced in the country houses of the Dutch Indies. This style appeared in late 18th-century and gradually adapted to the tropical climate. The style can be divided into three major archetypes: Dutch Style country houses, Transitional Dutch Indies country houses, and Indies style country houses. [2] At least one of each of the styles survived as of 2015. [1]

Dutch Style country houses

Reynier de Klerck house, now known as the National Archives building, one of the few Indies country houses of this type that survives to this day. National Archives of Indonesia.jpg
Reynier de Klerck house, now known as the National Archives building, one of the few Indies country houses of this type that survives to this day.

Country houses in the Dutch Style (Nederlandse stijl) were popular between 1730 and 1770. [2] They are typically a two-story structure of near replicas of their Dutch counterparts. The Dutch influences are evident in the hipped roof, closed and solid facade and high windows. They often came with belfries, a musical pavilion and a European pleasure garden. [2] The only concession to the tropical climate is the relatively large roof overhang compared with the originals. Unlike their Dutch counterparts, Batavian estates included extensive ancillary quarters to accommodate servants, often in the rear of the house. [1] The interior was usually larger than its Dutch counterpart, with a much taller ceiling.

Samples are Weltevreden country house, Groeneveld House in Condet, Reynier de Klerck country house (now the building of the National Archives of Indonesia), and Jan Schreuder country house. [2]

Transitional Dutch Indies country houses

Rumah Cililitan Besar, the prototype of the Transitional Dutch Indies country houses, can still be seen today, but in a neglected condition. Rumah Besar Cililitan 1930.jpg
Rumah Cililitan Besar, the prototype of the Transitional Dutch Indies country houses, can still be seen today, but in a neglected condition.

These Nederlands-Indische stijl, [2] appeared between 1750 and 1800. Their structure and form show acculturation to the tropical climate. Still a two-story structure, the facades are protected from the sun and heavy rain by a larger overhanging roof on all sides. The roof profile resembles the local joglo-style roof traditionally reserved for Javanese noblemen. The upper floor is usually reached by an external staircase and often the central portion was left open for maximum ventilation; as well as tall windows with louvered shutters. The style was also popular in Sumatra.

Samples include Rumah Cililitan Besar (1775), which is still in existence, although deteriorating. [1] Other examples are Pondok Gedeh country house and Cengkareng country house. [2]

Indies-style country houses

Landhuis Depan in Batavia. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Landhuis Depan bij Paal Merah Batavia TMnr 60016082.jpg
Landhuis Depan in Batavia.

Also known as Indo-European house (Indo Europeesche Stijl) [3] or Indische stijl, [2] this type appeared between 1790 and 1820. The form represents the fusion of Dutch and indigenous (Javanese) style. Indies-style country houses were usually built as a single-story structure with front verandahs (pringgitan) and rear verandahs (gadri), covered by a joglo-type pitched roof that extended over the verandahs. Often the verandahs were connected to side galleries for weather protection. The verandah often had potted palms, cool concrete or marble tiles covered with split bamboo mats. The western reference appears in the neo-classical Tuscan columns supporting the large roof overhang and the decorated doors and windows. [1]

The style was replicated all around the archipelago in the later period. One of the few surviving examples is the dilapidated Cimanggis house, whose roof collapsed before 2013. Other examples are Japan House (built for Andries Hartsinck by the end of 18th century, demolished in 1996), Tjitrap (Citeureup) house, Telukpucung house, Camis house and Tjilodong (Cilodong) house. [4] [1]

Decline

With the dissolution of the VOC, country houses became less popular. During the 19th century, two groups of architectural movements occupied the Dutch East Indies: the universally accepted but fading Neoclassical style, appropriate for a colonial empire; and the Modernist, which gave rise to a neo-vernacular school that combined with Art Deco to create a tropical style dubbed as New Indies Style. [5] Whereas the earlier Indies Style were essentially Indonesian houses with European trim, by the early 20th century, the trend was for modernist influences to be expressed in essentially European buildings with Indonesian trim. Practical measures carried over from the earlier Indies Style, which responded to the Indonesian climate, included overhanging eaves, larger windows and ventilation in the walls. [6]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gunawan Tjahjono 1998, pp. 110–1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gemeentemuseum Helmond 1990, pp. 7–11.
  3. Schoppert & Damais 1997, pp. 72–7.
  4. Akhir Matua Harahap (July 26, 2017). "Sejarah Kota Depok (21): Sejarah Cilodong dan Keluarga Riemsdijk; Land Tjilodong, Abraham Pieter Kijdsmeir Menikahi Wanita Pribumi". Poestaha Depok (in Indonesian). Blogspot. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  5. Gunawan Tjahjono 1998, pp. 120.
  6. Schoppert & Damais 1997, pp. 104–5.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batavia, Dutch East Indies</span> Capital of the Dutch East Indies

Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The area corresponds to present-day Jakarta, Indonesia. Batavia can refer to the city proper or its suburbs and hinterland, the Ommelanden, which included the much larger area of the Residency of Batavia in the present-day Indonesian provinces of Jakarta, Banten and West Java.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joglo</span> Javanese Traditional House in Java, Indonesia

Joglo is a type of traditional vernacular house of the Javanese people. The word joglo refers to the shape of the roof. In the highly hierarchical Javanese culture, the type of the roof of a house reflects the social and economic status of the owners of the house; joglo houses are traditionally associated with Javanese aristocrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Indonesia</span> Overview of the architecture in Indonesia

The architecture of Indonesia reflects the diversity of cultural, historical and geographic influences that have shaped Indonesia as a whole. Invaders, colonizers, missionaries, merchants and traders brought cultural changes that had a profound effect on building styles and techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendhapa</span>

A pendhapa or pandhapa is a fundamental element of Javanese architecture unique in the southern central part of Java; a large pavilion-like structure built on columns. Either square or rectangular in plan, it is open on all sides and provides shelter from the sun and rain, but allows breeze and indirect light. The word pendhapa is cognate to the Sanskrit word mandapa ("hall").

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieuwe Zakelijkheid</span>

Nieuwe Zakelijkheid, translated as New Objectivity or New Pragmatism, is a Dutch period of modernist architecture that started in the 1920s and continued into the 1930s. The term is also used to denote a (brief) period in art and literature. Related to and descended from the German movement Neue Sachlichkeit, Nieuwe Zakelijkheid is characterized by angular shapes and designs that are generally free of ornamentation and decoration. The architecture is based on functional considerations and often included open layouts that allowed spaces to be used with flexibility. Sliding doors were included in some of the designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial architecture of Indonesia</span> Dutch East Indies architectural style

The colonial architecture of Indonesia refers to the buildings that were created across Indonesia during the Dutch colonial period, during that time, this region was known as the Dutch East Indies. These types of colonial era structures are more prevalent in Java and Sumatra, as those islands were considered more economically significant during the Dutch imperial period. As a result of this, there is a large number of well preserved colonial era buildings that are still densely concentrated within Indonesian cities in Java and Sumatra to this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumah adat</span> Traditional Indonesian houses

Rumah adat are traditional houses built in any of the vernacular architecture styles of Indonesia, collectively belonging to the Austronesian architecture. The traditional houses and settlements of the several hundreds ethnic groups of Indonesia are extremely varied and all have their own specific history. It is the Indonesian variants of the whole Austronesian architecture found all over places where Austronesian people inhabited from the Pacific to Madagascar each having their own history, culture and style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial architecture in Jakarta</span>

Colonial buildings and structures in Jakarta include those that were constructed during the Dutch colonial period of Indonesia. The period succeeded the earlier period when Jakarta, governed by the Sultanate of Banten, were completely eradicated and replaced with a walled city of Batavia. The dominant styles of the colonial period can be divided into three periods: the Dutch Golden Age, the transitional style period, and Dutch modernism. Dutch colonial architecture in Jakarta is apparent in buildings such as houses or villas, churches, civic buildings, and offices, mostly concentrated in the administrative city of Central Jakarta and West Jakarta.

Frans Johan Louwrens Ghijsels was a Dutch architect and urban planner who worked in the Netherlands and the Dutch Indies. Ghijsels was the founder of AIA, the biggest architecture consultant in the Dutch Indies. He was one of the instrumental architects in developing a modern style characteristic of the Dutch Indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toko Merah</span>

Toko Merah is a Dutch colonial landmark in Jakarta Old Town, Indonesia. Built in 1730, it is one of the oldest buildings in Jakarta. The building is located on the west side of the main canal Kali Besar. The building's red color contributes to its current name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumah Cililitan Besar</span> Dutch colonial country house in Jakarta, Indonesia

Rumah Cililitan Besar, also known as simply Cililitan Besar or Lebak Sirih, is a former Dutch colonial country house located in Kramat Jati, Jakarta. It was known in Dutch as Landhuis Tjililitan Besar. It is located next to the complex of Soekanto Indonesian National Police Hospital. The architecture style of the building is a prototype for a late 19th century Dutch country house style known as the transitional Dutch Indies style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Indies architecture</span> Architectural style in Dutch East Indies

New Indies Style is a modern architectural style used in the Dutch East Indies between the late 19th century through pre-World War II 20th century. New Indies Style is basically early modern (western) architecture, which applies local architectural elements such as wide eaves or prominent roof as an attempt to conform with the tropical climate of Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javanese traditional house</span>

Javanese traditional house refers to the traditional vernacular houses of Javanese people in the island of Java, Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indies Empire architecture</span> Architectural style in Dutch East Indies

Indies Empire style is an architectural style that flourished in the colonial Dutch East Indies between the middle of the 18th century and the end of the 19th century. The style is an imitation of neoclassical Empire Style which was popular in mid-19th-century France. Conformed to the tropical setting of Indonesia, the style became known in the Dutch East Indies as Indies Empire style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Mosque of Surakarta</span>

The Great Mosque of Surakarta is an 18th-century Javanese mosque in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. It is the royal mosque of the Surakarta Sunanate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Archives Building, Jakarta</span> Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia

The National Archives Building is the building of the Government Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia. The building, formerly a late 18th-century private residence of Governor-General Reinier de Klerk, is part of the cultural heritage of Jakarta. The house is an archetypal Indies-Style house of the earliest period.

Gedong Tinggi Palmerah is an 18th-century Dutch Indies country house located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The building is among the protected colonial heritage of Indonesia. Like many other colonial country houses of Jakarta, despite its protection by the government, the lack of interest in the study of the building caused it to slowly fall into disrepair. It was converted into a police station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosque architecture in Indonesia</span> Complex of multiple built objects

Mosque architecture in Indonesia refers to the architectural traditions of mosques built in the archipelago of Indonesia. Initial forms of the mosque, for example, were predominantly built in the vernacular Indonesian architectural style mixed with Hindu, Buddhist or Chinese architectural elements, and notably didn't equip orthodox form of Islamic architectural elements such as dome and minaret. Vernacular architectural style varies depending on the island and region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundanese traditional house</span>

Sundanese traditional house refers to the traditional vernacular houses of the Sundanese people, who predominantly inhabited the western parts of Java island, Indonesia. The architecture of a Sundanese house is characterized by its functionality, simplicity, modesty, uniformity with a little detail, its use of natural thatched materials, and the quite faithful adherence to harmony with nature and the environment.

References