Lawang Sewu

Lawang Sewu was built between 1904 and 1907 as the headquarters of the Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij, the first railway company in the Indies, and it is one of the better pieces of colonial architecture in Java - a large L-shaped building designed for the tropics with tall louvred doors and windows in long ranks to move air, a stained-glass stair hall made in Amsterdam, and a monumental brick front. The Javanese name means thousand doors, from the number of openings. The basement, used as a prison during the Japanese occupation, has generated a large ghost-story industry.

History

The name means "a thousand doors". The building was designed by Cosman Citroen of the firm of J. F. Klinkhamer and B. J. Quendag in the New Indies Style, a Dutch rationalism adapted to the Indies; building A was begun in 1904 and completed in 1907, the rest of the complex was finished in 1919, and it served first as the head office of the Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij, the first railway company in the Dutch East Indies (Wikipedia, Lawang Sewu).

What to look for

• Ranks of louvred doors - the tropical ventilation that gave the building its name.
• An Amsterdam stained-glass hall - the stair window imported for the headquarters.
• The wartime basement - used as a Japanese prison during the occupation.
• The New Indies Style - Dutch rationalism adapted to the tropics, designed by Cosman Citroen.

When to go

All year. Two hours.

Practical notes

The ghost-tour framing around the basement sits uncomfortably with what happened there. Restoration has been extensive. It is hot inside despite the ventilation, and crowded at weekends.

Nearby

Tugu Muda monument is opposite; the Kota Lama old town is north.

Key facts