Blenduk Church

Blenduk Church
Blenduk Church
Protestant Church in Western Indonesia Immanuel Semarang
Gereja Protestan Indonesia Barat Immanuel Semarang
	Blenduk Church Location in Semarang
	6°58′5.28″S110°25′38.98″E / 6.9681333°S 110.4274944°E
Location	Semarang, Central Java
Country	Indonesia
Denomination	Protestant ; (Calvinist)
History
Founded	1753
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Specifications
Number of floors	2
Number of domes	3
Number of spires	2
Administration
Parish	200 families (2004)

Last updated May 11, 2024

The Protestant Church in Western Indonesia Immanuel Semarang (Indonesian : Gereja Protestan Indonesia Barat Immanuel Semarang), better known as Blenduk Church (Gereja Blenduk), is a Protestant church in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Built in 1753, it is the oldest church in the province.^[1]

Architecture and layout

Blenduk Church, at 32 Letjen Suprapto Street in the old town of Semarang, Central Java, is located in a small courtyard between former office buildings.^[1] The Jiwasraya building is located to the south, across the street, while the Kerta Niaga offices are to its west.^[2]

The octagonal church, built on a stone foundation and with single-layer brick walls, has its ground floor at street level.^[2] It is topped by a large, copper-skinned dome, from which it gets its common name;^[3]^[4] the Javanese word mblenduk means dome. The dome is supported by 32 steel beams, 8 large and 24 small.^[5] Two towers, square at the base and slowly rounding until topped with a small dome, are located on either side of the main entrance, while a cornice consisting of horizontal lines runs around the building; Roman-style porticoes covered in saddle-shaped roofs are located on its eastern, southern and western faces.^[1] Blenduk also features etched and stained glass windows, as well as wood-panel double doors at the south-facing entrance.^[1]^[2]

The wooden pews inside Blenduk have rattan seats, while the pulpit is completely made of wood and located on an octagonal platform made of teak.^[1]^[5] A nonfunctional Baroque pipe organ from the 1700s is also located inside.^[1]^[4] The floor is covered in black, yellow, and white tiles.^[5] In the northern part of the interior is a spiral staircase, etched with name of its manufacturer, Pletterij den haag (Rolling Mill, The Hague), which leads to the second floor.^[5]

History

Blenduk was established in 1753; the initial building had a joglo-style.^[1] Although meant for Protestants, Catholics also used it until the first Catholic church in the city, in Gedangan, was built.^[1]

The church was later rebuilt in 1787.^[1] Another re-imagining, spearheaded by H.P.A. de Wilde and W. Westmas, began work in 1894.^[1] During this renovation, the dome and two towers were added.^[1]^[4] Another series of renovations began in the early 2000s.^[1] As of 2004, the church has 200 families in its congregation and holds regular Sunday services;^[6] it is also a tourist attraction.^[4] In 2003 the church celebrated its 250th year.^[1]

Awards

In February 2009, Blenduk received an award for Best Maintained Old Place of Worship from the Central Java branch of the Architects' Society of Indonesia.^[7]

Gallery

Interior
Pulpit
A stained glass window.

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References

Footnotes

Bibliography

"Blenduk Church". ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
"Gereja Blenduk Raih Penghargaan" [Blenduk Church Receives an Award]. Suara Merdeka (in Indonesian). 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
"Gereja Protestan Indonesia Barat / GPIB Immanuel – Gereja Blenduk" [Immanuel Protestant Church of Western Indonesia / PCWI – Blenduk Church] (in Indonesian). Semarang City Government. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
Gower, Simon Marcus (27 March 2009). "Semarang's old city: A fading reminder of former glories". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
Suherdjoko (13 July 2003). "'Blenduk' church in Semarang celebrating its 250th year". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
Taufiqurrahman, M. (29 August 2004). "Semarang: 'Little Holland' tries to came alive". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
Widiarto, Arie (23 December 2003). "Butuh Setahun untuk Renovasi "Blenduk"" [It Takes a Year to Renovate "Blenduk"]. Suara Merdeka (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2012.

External links

Media related to Blenduk Church at Wikimedia Commons

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[FOOTNOTESuherdjoko_2003,_'Blenduk'_church_in_Semarang-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Suherdjoko 2003, 'Blenduk' church in Semarang.

[FOOTNOTESemarang_City_Government,_Gereja_Protestan_Indonesia-2] 1 2 3 Semarang City Government, Gereja Protestan Indonesia.

[FOOTNOTEGower_2009,_Semarang's_old_city-3] Gower 2009, Semarang's old city.

[FOOTNOTEASEAN_Committee_on_Culture_and_Information,_Blenduk_Church-4] 1 2 3 4 ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information, Blenduk Church.

[FOOTNOTEWidiarto_2003,_Butuh_Setahun_untuk_Renovasi-5] 1 2 3 4 Widiarto 2003, Butuh Setahun untuk Renovasi.

[FOOTNOTETaufiqurrahman_2004,_Semarang:_'Little_Holland'-6] Taufiqurrahman 2004, Semarang: 'Little Holland'.

[FOOTNOTESuara_Merdeka_2009,_Gereja_Blenduk_Raih-7] Suara Merdeka 2009, Gereja Blenduk Raih.

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