Harmony Society, Batavia

Last updated
Harmony Society, Batavia
(photographer: Isidore van Kinsbergen). COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Societeit De Harmonie Batavia. TMnr 60009338.jpg
Harmony Society, Batavia
(photographer: Isidore van Kinsbergen).

The Harmony Society (Dutch : Societeit de Harmonie) was an elite social club in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. It was the oldest clubhouse in Asia when it was demolished. [1] The construction of the group's building included the former bricks of the wall of Old Batavia. It was demolished for road widening and parking area in 1985. Activities at the club included cards and billiards. [1] Indigenous people were excluded from the club. [1]

Contents

J.C. Schultze was the building's architect and also designed the Jakarta Art Building (Batavia Schouwburg).

The society building was constructed to convince Europeans to move from the old city centre (now Kota, Jakarta) to the more southerly area of Weltevreden. [2] The style of the building is Neoclassical. The area around it has been referred to as ‘Harmoni’ and its destruction prompted increased awareness of Indonesia's colonial heritage. [2]

The club in Central Jakarta was located at the intersection of Jalan Veteran and Jalan Majapahit (called Rijswijk and Rijswijkstraat respectively during the Dutch colonial era).

The first societeit club built in Batavia was at Buiten Nieuwpoorstraat (now Jalan Pintu Besar Selatan) in West Jakarta. In 1810, Governor General Herman Willem Daendels dispatched Major Schultze, designer of Daendels Palace at Waterlooplein, to design the large clubhouse. He wanted it to compete and undermine the influence of the Freemasons and it was part of his plan to move the administrative center of Batavia to the southern district of Weltevreden. [3] The building was budgeted to cost 105,000 rijksdaalders and Batavia in the Nineteenth Century Photographs. [3] After the British attacked Batavia in Aug 1811, construction was overseen by the new British Lieutenant-Governor of Java Thomas Stamford Raffles with a construction cost of 360,000 rijksdaalders. [3] Abdul Hamied was the building's contractor. Construction was completed in late 1814 and the Harmonie club opened on January 18, 1815, to coincide with the official birthday of Queen Charlotte, wife of the then British King George III. [1] [3] Raffles included collections from the museum and library of the Batavian Society of Arts and Science in the building's annex. [1] G. Windsor Earl visited. [1] A Dutch cultural fair (Kermis) was held at the club and the Harmonie hosted a party for the 250th anniversary of the city of Batavia May 29, 1869. The clubhouse's site is now a park and parking lot of the State Secretariat office. [1]

See also

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">Herman Willem Daendels</span> Dutch military officer, revolutionary and colonial administrator (1762–1818)

Herman Willem Daendels was a Dutch military officer, revolutionary and colonial administrator who served as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1808 to 1811.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambir, Jakarta</span> District in Central Jakarta, Indonesia

Gambir is a district in the administrative city of Central Jakarta, Indonesia.. It is characterized by many historic buildings from the colonial era. It hosts some of the foremost political and learning/tourism features of the capital. The Merdeka Palace, the National Museum, the headquarters of the Indonesian Scout Movement and the Merdeka Square are among these.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawah Besar</span> District in Special Capital City District of Jakarta, Indonesia

Sawah Besar is a district (kecamatan) of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Its neighborhoods are among the most historic, containing the 1820-established Pasar Baru, the new colonial city – Weltevreden – and the old course of the Ciliwung River. Landmarks include the Lapangan Banteng, the government's 19th century, low-rise A.A. Maramis Building and its high palmed-lawned vista, and Jakarta Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kota Tua Jakarta</span> Historic downtown of northwest Jakarta, Indonesia

Kota Tua Jakarta, officially known as Kota Tua, is a neighborhood comprising the original downtown area of Jakarta, Indonesia. It is also known as Oud Batavia, Benedenstad, or Kota Lama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences</span>

The Royal Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences was a Dutch learned society in Batavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Jakarta</span>

Jakarta is Indonesia's capital and largest city. Located on an estuary of the Ciliwung River, on the northwestern part of Java, the area has long sustained human settlement. Historical evidence from Jakarta dates back to the 4th century CE, when it was a Hindu settlement and port. The city has been sequentially claimed by the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanegara, the Hindu Kingdom of Sunda, the Muslim Sultanate of Banten, and by Dutch, Japanese and Indonesian administrations. The Dutch East Indies built up the area before it was taken during World War II by the Empire of Japan and finally became independent as part of Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amsterdam Gate, Jakarta</span>

The Amsterdam Gate formed the entrance to the Castle Square south of Batavia Castle. The gate existed from 1744 up to the 1950s in what is now known as Kota, Jakarta, where it would have stood near the intersection of Jalan Nelayan Timur and Jalan Cengkeh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakarta Art Building</span> Concert hall in Jakarta

The Jakarta Art Building, historically known as Schouwburg Weltevreden, is a concert hall in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta, Indonesia, built during the colonial period in Batavia, Dutch East Indies.

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.

Gatot Soebroto Central Army Hospital is a military hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. The name of the hospital is derived from Gatot Soebroto, a National Hero of Indonesia. Established in 1819, the hospital is the main hospital for the Indonesian Army. The hospital also provides limited services for civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French and British interregnum in the Dutch East Indies</span> French and British colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies

The French and British interregnum in the Dutch East Indies of the Dutch East Indies took place between 1806 and 1816. The French ruled between 1806 and 1811, while the British took over for 1811 to 1816 and transferred its control back to the Dutch in 1816.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lapangan Banteng</span> Urban park in Tanah Abang, Jakarta, Indonesia

Lapangan Banteng is a historic square located in a historic area formerly known as Weltevreden, today Sawah Besar subdistrict, Central Jakarta, 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 the 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 the Indies Empire style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batavia Castle</span> VOC fort in Jakarta

Batavia Castle was a fort located at the mouth of Ciliwung River in Jakarta. Batavia Castle was the administrative center of Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A.A. Maramis Building</span> Government building in Jakarta, Indonesia

The A.A. Maramis Building is an early 19th-century building in Jakarta, Indonesia. It hosts the headquarters of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakarta City Hall</span> Seat of the Indonesian capital city government

Jakarta City Hall is the seat of the Jakarta City government. The complex contains the official office of the governor and the vice governor of Jakarta, and the main administrative office. Jakarta City Hall is located south of Merdeka Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalan Gajah Mada and Jalan Hayam Wuruk</span> Major thoroughfare in Jakarta, Indonesia

Jalan Gajah Mada and Jalan Hayam Wuruk, formerly Molenvliet West and Molenvliet Oost respectively, is a major thoroughfare located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The two streets with its canal, the Batang Hari, connect Glodok and Kota Tua Jakarta to the north with Harmoni Junction to the south. Completed in late 1640s, the canal-street Gajah Mada and Hayam Wuruk is Jakarta's oldest major thoroughfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Hotel, Batavia</span> Hotel in Batavia, Dutch East Indies

Marine Hotel was one of the former landmark of the Molenvliet, a 17th-century built canal located in Batavia, the Dutch East Indies. Marine Hotel was located at the south end of Molenvliet West, approximately at the location of the old building of Bank Tabungan Negara. The building has been demolished.

Prinsen Straat, or Prince Street in English, was one of the busiest main streets in Batavia, Dutch East Indies where business and trade took place. It is now called Jalan Cengkeh in Jakarta. Jalan Cengkeh is located in the main area surrounding Kota Tua.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Clubhouse Harmonie now a parking lot by Ida Indawati Khouw The Jakarta Post December 09 2000
  2. 1 2 Changing views on colonial heritage by Pauline van Roosmalen page 127
  3. 1 2 3 4 Batavia in 19th century photographs by Scott Merrillees

6°10′05″S106°49′16″E / 6.167927°S 106.821246°E / -6.167927; 106.821246