Coordinates: 6°59′2.13″S 110°24′38.

28″E

Lawang Sewu
Lawang Sewu ("Thousand Doors") is a landmark in Semarang, Central Java,
Lawang Sewu
Indonesia, built as the headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company.
The colonial era building is famous as a haunted house, though the Semarang
city government has attempted to rebrand it.

Contents
Etymology
Layout
Lawang Sewu in 2011

History Former names Administratiegebouw

Urban legend Nederlands-Indische
Spoorweg
References
Maatschappij
External link
General information
Address Pemuda Street
Etymology Town or city Semarang

The name Lawang Sewu is from Javanese; it means "Thousand Doors".[1] The Country Indonesia
name comes from its design, with numerous doors and arcs.[2] The building has Coordinates 6°59′2.13″S
about 600 large windows.[3] 110°24′38.28″E
Groundbreaking 1904
Layout Completed 1919
The complex consists of several Opened 1907
buildings, two main ones Owner Indonesian Railways
named A and B and two smaller
Technical details
ones named C and D, on
Floor count 3
Pemuda Street.[4][2] The l-
shaped A building faces the Design and construction
Tugu Muda roundabout.[4][2] Architect C. Citroen
There are two identical towers
Architecture J.F. Klinkhamer and
on A building, which were
Blueprints for Building B firm B.J. Quendag
originally used to store water,
each with a capacity of 7,000 litres (1,800 US gal).[4] The building features large
stained-glass windows and a grand staircase in the center.[5] There was also once an underground tunnel connecting A building to
.[4]
several other sites in the city, including the governor's mansion and the harbour

The B building is located behind A building.[4] It is three stories in height, with the first two floors consisting of offices and the third
holding a ballroom.[4] The building, with high, large windows, also has a basement floor that is kept partially flooded to serve to cool
the building through evaporation.[4]

Indonesian War of Independence.[6]

In front of A building stands a monument to five employees killed during the
History
Lawang Sewu was designed by Cosman Citroen, from the firm of J.F. Klinkhamer
and B.J. Quendag.[2] It was designed in New Indies Style, an academically-accepted
term for Dutch Rationalism in the Indies.[7] Similar with Dutch Rationalism, the
style is the result of the attempt to develop new solutions to integrate traditional
precedents (classicism) with new technological possibilities. It can be described as a
transitional style between Traditionalists and the Modernists, and was strongly
influenced by the design ofBerlage.[8]

Construction began in 1904 with A building, which was completed in 1907.[4] The
"A Building" in the early 1900s
rest of the complex was finished in 1919.[4] It was initially used by the
Nederlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschappij, the first railway company in the
Dutch East Indies.[4]

After the Japanese invaded Indonesia in 1942, the Japanese army took over Lawang
Sewu.[4] The basement of B building was turned into a prison, with several
executions taking place there.[4] When Semarang was retaken by the Dutch in the
battle of Semarang in October 1945, the Dutch forces used the tunnel leading into A
building to sneak into the city.[4] A battle ensued, with numerous Indonesian fighters
dying.[2] Five employees working there were also killed.[6]
A side hall of the building
After the war, the Indonesian army took over the complex.[6] It was later returned to
the national railway company.[6] In 1992 it was declared a Cultural Property of
Indonesia.[3]

[5] Simon Marcus Gower, writing in The Jakarta Post,

By 2009 the Lawang Sewu complex was in a state of considerable dilapidation.
noted it as being "dark and evidently sick. Its white walls are faded throughout; blackened by pollution and neglect. Rendered walls
are cracked and any wall paper has long since fallen away to reveal the red bricks beneath. Mould and weeds grow over much of the
[5]
building and mice and rats are the chief residents."

The building soon underwent renovations to ensure that it would be profitable as a tourist attraction.[1][9] Governor of Central Java
Bibit Waluyo mobilized several dozen soldiers to assist with the renovations; the soldiers focused on external repairs.[1] Local
.[9]
residents were disappointed in the renovations, opining that it had lost its authenticity

On 5 July 2011 the newly renovated complex was inaugurated by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.[1] However, at the time only B building
was available for tours.[4] It is hoped to be a main attraction in the Central Javan government's tourism program in 2013.
[1]

Future plans include transforming Building B into office space, a food court, and even a gym.[10] In late 2013 the Semarang city
government announced plans to eliminate the building's "spooky image" in order to attract more visitors. This was to encompass a
reimagining of the site as a place for social and cultural activities, supported by renovations of the building. At the time, Lawang
.[3]
Sewu attracted an average of 1,000 visitors daily

Urban legend
Lawang Sewu is said to be haunted, with many tourists visiting to see the ghosts.[5] Among the ghosts reported to inhabit the
[5]
establishment are a Dutchwoman who committed suicide inside and "headless ghouls".

In 2007, a horror film entitled Lawang Sewu: Dendam Kuntilanak (Lawang Sewu: Kuntilanak's Vengeance) was released based on
the legend.[11] It told the story of a group of high school students fromJakarta who were trapped in Lawang Sewu after several had to
urinate and featured ghosts of a Dutchwoman, a man with a ball and chain wrapped around his leg, andkuntilanak.
a [11]
References
Footnotes

1. Ariwibowo 2011, First Lady Inaugurates.

2. Semarang City Government, Lawang Sewu.
3. Rohmah 2013, Lawang Sewu.
4. Prihadi 2011, Lawang Sewu Kini.
5. Gower 2009, Lawang Sewu: Ahaunted.
The basement of B building, said to
6. Tio 2011, p. 62. be haunted by a kuntilbiang
7. Gunawan Tjahjono, ed. (1998).Architecture. Indonesian Heritage.6.
Singapore: Archipelago Press. p. 120.ISBN 981-3018-30-5.
8. "Rationalisme, Traditionalisme, Americanisme". Het Indische bouwen:
architectuur en stedebouw in Indonesie : Dutch and Indisch architecture
1800-1950 (https://books.google.co.id/books?id=wUa4nQEACAAJ&dq=
het+indische+bouwen&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JNkYVdHMCcS2uASovIDQDg
&redir_esc=y) (in Dutch). Helmond: Gemeentemuseum Helmond. 1990.
pp. 20–23.
9. Okezone.com 2011, Banyak Warga Kecewa.
10. Vann 2013, Haunted House.
11. KapanLagi.com 2007, 'Lawang Sewu', Film.

Bibliography

Ariwibowo, AA (5 July 2011)."First Lady Inaugurates Renovated An access to the underground of

Lawang Sewu Building". Antara. Archived from the original on 17 Lawang Sewu building in Semarang,
December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011. Central Java, Indonesia
"Banyak Warga Kecewa Lawang Sewu Direnovasi" [Many Citizens are
Disappointed that Lawang Sewu is being Renovated].Okezone.com (in
Indonesian). 13 October 2011. Archived fromthe original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
Gower, Simon Marcus (9 February 2009)."Lawang Sewu: Ahaunted, sad place". The Jakarta Post. Archived from
the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
"Lawang Sewu" (in Indonesian). Semarang City Government. Archived fromthe original on 17 December 2011.
Retrieved 17 December 2011.
"Lawang Sewu : Keindahan Seni di Balik Mistis"[Lawang Sewu: Beautiful Art behind a Mystical Screen] (in
Indonesian). Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved
17 December 2011.
" 'Lawang Sewu', Film Hantu Semarang"['Lawang Sewu': A Ghost Movie in Semarang].KapanLagi.com (in
Indonesian). 21 September 2007. Archived fromthe original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
Prihadi, Susetyo Dwi (24 July 2011)."Lawang Sewu Kini Tak Lagi Mistis" [Lawang Sewu is No Longer Mystical].
Okezone.com (in Indonesian). Archived fromthe original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
Rohmah, Ainur (28 December 2013)."Lawang Sewu's spooky image eliminated to lure more visitors"
. Archived from
the original on 28 December 2013.
Tio, Jongkie (2011). Semarang CIty, A Glance into the Past.
Vann, Michael G. (July 2013). "Haunted house, haunted history". Inside Indonesia. Retrieved 29 November 2013.

External link
Media related to Lawang Sewu at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lawang_Sewu&oldid=815899459

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This page was last edited on 17 December 2017, at 22:52.

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