Gedung Sate

Gedung Sate was built between 1920 and 1924 as the Department of Transport, Public Works and Water Management for the Netherlands Indies, part of the programme of construction for the intended move of the colonial capital from Batavia to Bandung, which never happened. J Gerber's design mixes Dutch rationalism with Indies and Asian elements - arcades, a symmetrical plan and a central tower carrying an ornament of six skewered shapes that Bandung immediately read as satay on a stick, giving the building the name everyone uses. It is now the West Java governor's office. In 1945 seven young employees were killed defending the building against Gurkha troops, commemorated by a monument in the grounds. A museum inside covers the building's construction and the province.

What you actually see

• The satay spire - six skewered ornaments on the central tower that named the building.
• A 1924 colonial ministry - built for a capital move that never took place.
• A working governor's office - still in daily administrative use.
• The 1945 monument - to the seven employees killed defending it.

When to go

All year; the museum keeps office-day hours. An hour or two.

Honest expectations

It is a working government building - interior access is limited to the museum and set areas, on weekdays. The lawns outside are the main public space. Bandung traffic around it is heavy.

Nearby

Braga street and Gedung Merdeka are south; the Geological Museum is close.