Semarang : capital and largest city of the province of Central Java

Semarang

Semarang is a city on the north coast of the island of Java, Indonesia. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Central Java.
Semarang's history dates back to the 9th century, when it was known as Bergota. By the end of the 15th century, a Javanese Islamic missionary from the nearby Sultanate of Demak founded a village and an Islamic boarding school. On 2 May 1547, after consulting Sunan Kalijaga, Sultan Hadiwijaya of Pajang declared Kyai Pandan Arang the 1st bupati of Semarang, thus culturally and politically, on this day Semarang was born.
In 1678, Sunan Amangkurat II promised to give control of Semarang to the Dutch East India Company as a part of a debt payment. In 1682, the Semarang state was founded by the Dutch colonial power. On 5 October 1705 after years of occupations, Semarang officially became a VOC city when Susuhunan Pakubuwono I made a deal to give extensive trade rights to the VOC in exchange of wiping out Mataram's debt. The VOC, and later, the Dutch East Indies government, established tobacco plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre.
During VOC times Semarang had always been an important center of government for North Java, employing many Indo-European officials, until Daendels simplified bureaucracy by eliminating this extra layer of officialdom. The city’s expansion declined until in 1830 when the Java War ended and export commerce via the north of Java picked up again.
The historic presence of a large Indo community in the area of Semarang is also reflected by the fact a creole mix language called Javindo existed there.
The Japanese military occupied the city, along with the rest of Java, in 1942, during the Pacific War of World War II. During that time, Semarang was headed by a military governor called a Shiko, and two vice governors known as Fuku Shiko. One of the vice governors was appointed from Japan, and the other was chosen from the local population.

After Indonesian became the capital of Central

independence in 1945, Semarang Java province.

Semarang was handed by the Sultan of Mataram to the Dutch East Indies in 1678. The city was pictured as a small settlement with a pious Muslim area called Kauman, a Chinese quarter, and a Dutch fortress. The fortress has a pentagonal form with only one gate in the south and five monitoring towers to protect the Dutch settlement from rebellion actions, segregating the spaces between Dutch settlement and other areas. In fact, the city of Semarang was only referred to the Dutch quarter while the other ethnic settlement were considered as villages outside the city boundary. The city, known as de Europeeshe Buurt, was built in classical European style with church located in the centre, wide boulevards and streets skirted by beautiful villas. According to Purwanto, the urban and architectural form of this settlement is very similar to the design principles applied in many Dutch cities, which begun to concern on the urban beautification.
Due to the long and costly Java War, there were not much of funding from the Dutch East Indies government, effecting the development of Semarang. The majority of land was used for rice fields and the only small improvement was the development of surrounding fortress. Although less developed, Semarang has a fairly arranged city system, in which urban activities were concentrated along the river and the settlement was linked to a market where different ethnic groups met to trade. The existence of the market, in the later years, become a primary element and a generator of urban economic growths.
An important influence on urban growth was the Great Mail Road project in the 1847, which connected all the cities in northern coast of Central and East Java and made Semarang as the trade centre of agricultural production. The project was soon followed by the development of the Netherlands Indies railway and the connecting roads into the inner city of Semarang at the end of 19th century. Colombijn marked the development as the shift of urban functions, from the former river orientation to all services facing the roads.
Improved communication, as the result of the Mail and Railway projects, had brought an economic booming for the city in the 1870s. There were hospital, churches, hotels, and large houses built along the new main roads; Bojongscheweg, Pontjolscheweg, and Mataram street, causing denser population in the ethnic settlements and creating the urban kampong. There was also a city tram connecting the inner city to and fro the suburbs in 1892. The government of Dutch East Indies had allowed private sectors to invest capital in agribusiness and generated various forms of employment, which affected on the deformation of the former Dutch quarter into offices area.
Urban growth had made acutely dense the urban kampong, reaching the number of 1000 inhabitants per hectare and degrading the quality of living condition. In this early 20th century, mortality rate was very high due to the overcrowding and lack of hygiene that triggered the invasion of cholera and tuberculosis. Cobban noted the ethical movement of kampongverbetering led by Henry Tillema in 1913 and the concern of the Advisor for Decentralisation for kampong improvement through the betterment of public toilets, drainage, and the planning of public housing. The municipal council of Semarang had also seen the importance to separate residential area from the city as working place.
In 1917, a healthy housing project was implemented in the Southern part of Semarang called Candi Baru. Thomas Karsten, the advisor for city planning, transformed the concept of ethnic segregation that divided previous urban settlements into a new housing district plan based on economic classes. Although practically the three ethnic groups were also divided into three economic classes where the Dutch and rich Chinese occupied the largest lots in the housing district, Karsten had effectively emerged the developed district by integrating the road network, introducing newly improved public wash and bathing, squares and sporting facilities that can be utilised communally. Following the Candi Baru, there were three other housing plans between 1916â€"1919 to accommodate 55% population increase in Semarang; 45,000 Javanese, 8500 Chinese and 7000 Europeans. Karsten marked a new approach to town planning which emphasis on the aesthetic, practical and social requirements, articulated not in terms of racial terms but economic zones.
Driven by economic growth and spatial city planning, the city had doubled in size and expanded to the south by the 1920s, creating a nucleus of a metropolis where multi-ethnic groups lived and traded in the city. The villages in the suburbs such as Jomblang and Jatingaleh steadily became the satellite towns of Semarang, more populated with a bigger market area. Before the invasion of Japan in 1942, Semarang had already become the capital of Central Java Province, as the result of trade and industrial success and spatial planning.
Semarang is located on the northern coast of Java. The northern part of the city is built on the coastal plain while the southern parts, known as Candi Lama and Candi Baru, are on higher ground. Two Dutch-built aqueducts run through the city to control the yearly flood, one on the east side and one through the west side, essentially dividing the city into three major areas.
The western part of the city is home to many industrial parks and factories. The port of Semarang is located on the north coast and it is the main shipping port for the province of Central Java. Many small manufacturers are located in Semarang, producing goods such as textiles, furniture, and processed foods. Large companies, such as Kubota and Coca-Cola, also have plants in Semarang or its outer towns.
Many major banks in Indonesia have large offices in Semarang. These include BCA, BNI, Panin Bank, HSBC, Permata, and Bank Mandiri. Most of these offices are located in the center of the city, especially around Jalan Pandanaran and Jalan Pemuda.
Hospitality is becoming increasingly important in Semarang. It is home to about a dozen upscale hotels that cater to business travelers and tourists, including Hotel Santika Premiere, Hotel Novotel, Hotel Horison Semarang, Hotel Ibis, Hotel Pandanaran, Hotel Ciputra Semarang, Crowne Hotel, Grand Candi Hotel, Quest Aston Semarang, Patra Jasa and Hotel Gumaya.
Most stores in Semarang are small, family-owned businesses. Home consumer spending is divided between traditional wet markets for locally-sourced fresh produce (fish, meat, vegetables) and western-style malls and supermarkets for manufactured, finished products (dry goods). Pasar Johar, Pasar Gang Baru, Pasar Jatingaleh, and Pasar Jati are examples of traditional wet markets. Hypermart, ADA Swalayan, Giant, and now Carrefour are the larger supermarket/department store chains in Semarang. Carrefour, a French chain, opened its 1st store in Central Java at DP Mall in Semarang. The other two malls are Ciputra Mall and the Java Supermall. A 4th mall, Paragon, is the largest shopping center in Central Java Province.

Semarang is served by Airport.

Achmad Yani International -

As of July 2013 Silk Air service to Singapore.

will be introducing a -

A bus rapid transit Semarang.

serves Semarang, called Trans -

Semarang has a toll road, Jalan Tol or the Semarang Artery. Currently, Semarang-Solo Toll Road is under construction.
Semarang is located on Indonesian National Route 1, that connects it to Merak and Ketapang. Indonesian National Route 14 towards Bawen starts here.

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