Jakarta Cathedral

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption was consecrated in 1901, replacing earlier buildings on the site that had collapsed and burned, and it is neo-Gothic in the Dutch manner - brick and plaster with three spires, two flanking towers with iron frames sheathed in teak, and a ribbed vault of wood rather than stone, which was the practical response to earthquake risk and to the cost of shipping stone. Inside are a Pietà, a Marian grotto in the Lourdes manner in the grounds, and a small museum in the balcony covering the church's history and the Catholic mission in the archipelago. Its situation is the point most visitors take away: it stands directly across the road from the Istiqlal mosque, the two sharing parking on each other's feasts and now linked by an underground tunnel.

History

After the Dutch East India Company arrived in 1619 the Catholic Church was banned in the Dutch East Indies, and the commissioner-general Leonard du Bus de Gisignies later gave land for the first Catholic church in Batavia, the former residence of General de Kock, blessed on 6 November 1829 as Our Lady of the Assumption. The present church was built between 1891 and 1901 to a design by Pastor Antonius Dijkmans, and when the work stopped for lack of funds the architect M. J. Hulswit resumed it in 1899 with a simplified design (Wikipedia, Jakarta Cathedral).

What you'll find

• Three iron and teak spires - the neo-Gothic front, built light against earthquakes.
• A wooden ribbed vault - the nave roofed in timber rather than stone.
• A balcony museum - the church's history and the Catholic mission in Indonesia.
• Istiqlal opposite - the largest mosque in Southeast Asia across the road.

When to go

All year, outside Mass times. An hour.

Before you go

It is an active cathedral and closed to sightseeing during services, which are frequent. The museum keeps limited hours. Christmas brings very heavy security and restricted access.

Nearby

Istiqlal mosque is across the road; Merdeka Square is west.

Key facts