Semarang

The early VOC settlement of Semarang with its prominent pentagonal fortress.

Semarang was handed by the Sultan of Mataram to the Dutch East Indies in 1678.[10] 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.[13] 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 Europeesche Buurt, was built in classical European style with church located in the centre, wide boulevards, streets and villas.[14] According to Purwanto (2005),[15] 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 was not much funding from the Dutch East Indies government, which affected Semarang's development. The majority of land was used for rice fields and the only small improvement was the development of a 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 growth.[16]

After the departure of Herman Willem Daendels, Napoleonic governor of Java, the Dutch reorganized Java into Residencies, and Semarang became the seat of the new Semarang Residency in 1817. An important influence on urban growth was the Great Mail Road project in the 1847, which connected all the cities in the northern coast of Central and East Java and positioned Semarang as the trade centre of agricultural production.[17] The project was soon followed by the development of the Staatsspoorwegen Railway and the connecting roads into the inner city of Semarang at the end of the 19th century.[16] Colombijn (2002)[17] marked the development as the shift of urban functions, from the former river orientation to all services facing the roads.

Coat of Arms of Semarang during Dutch colonial era, granted in 1827.

The Dutch East Indies' mail and railway projects improved communication and transportation, bringing an economic boom to the city in the 1870s. Hospitals, churches, hotels, and mansions were built along the new main roads of Mataram Street, Bojongscheweg, and Pontjolscheweg.[14] The Javanese quarters of town known as kampongs grew increasingly densely populated, reaching as many as 1000 inhabitants per hectare and degrading living conditions.[18] Mortality remained high into the early 20th century, with newcomers, overcrowding, and poor hygiene triggering cholera and tuberculous outbreaks.[19] Dysentery, typhoid, and malaria were also rife.[20] The city doctor Willem T. de Vogel advocated strenuously for reducing overcrowding and improving living conditions by extending Semarang into the less malarial hill country to its south;[21] his fellow councilman Hendrik Tillema had campaigned on a platform of combatting malaria and joined De Vogel's scheme, broadening it into a "village improvement" (Dutch: kampongverbetering) movement.[18] Purchasing land in the heights with their own money, the two men and some friends passed it on to the city with an initial zoning plan by KPC de Bazel in 1907 but could never convince a majority of the council to support its development.[20][21] Changing tack, Tillema then worked to improve the existing kampongs in the city's malarial districts by improving drainage and providing more sanitary public toilets and public housing.[18]

A decade later, the town approved Thomas Karsten's revised plan for the area, using it to build larger villas for the Dutch and wealthy Chinese and Javanese rather than allowing its use by the poor.[20][21][22] This area became known as Candi Baru (Dutch: Nieuw Tjandi) and forms the core of the present-day Candisari District. Although it remained highly stratified by class,[14] Candi Baru had less ethnic segregation than the older area of town and incorporated public squares, athletic facilities, and places for public bathing and washing that could be used communally.[23] With most work remaining in the lower city and transportation slow or expensive, few of the lower classes were interested in moving to the district[21] but it set a pattern that was followed with three more successful housing plans between 1916 and 1919. The population grew by 55%, adding 45,000 Javanese, 8500 Chinese, and 7000 Europeans. Karsten's approach to town planning emphasized its aesthetic, practical, and social requirements articulated in economic terms rather than purely racial ones.[23]

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.[14]

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  NIS company head office (Gedung Lawang Sewu), Semarang, Dutch East Indies.
• 
  A Chinese house in Semarang at the turn of the 20th century.
• 
  Aerial picture of Old Semarang area in the 1920s.
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  Old 0-6-0 locomotive next to the Lawang Sewu building.

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 independence in 1945, Semarang became the capital of Central Java on 18 August 1945,[24] headed by Mr. Moch.Ichsan.[25] It also became the site of a battle between Indonesian and Japanese soldiers in October 1945.[26]

Semarang features a tropical rainforest climate that borders on a tropical monsoon climate (Am). The city features distinctly wetter and drier months, with June through August being the driest months. However, the average monthly rainfall does not fall below 60 mm (2.4 in), hence the tropical rainforest categorization. Semarang on average sees approximately 2,800 mm (110 in) of rain annually. Average temperatures in the city are relatively consistent, hovering around 28 °C (82 °F). Diurnal temperature variation slightly increases in the dry season.

Like Singapore River, Semarang is constructing Semarang River at Banjir Kanal Barat (Garang River) near Karangayu Bridge. In the middle of July 2011, gardens in river banks and some traditional boats are available to use. The project will be finished in 2013 with river gardens, trotoars, garden lighting, water activities, art sites, sport sites and balconies and stairs for sightseeing.[32] In August 2011, a 421 m (1,380 ft) tunnel dodger at Kreo river has been finished and Jatibarang Dam construction can begin, with completion targeted for July 2013. The dam is planned to release 230 m³/s (8,100 cu ft/s) of flood water and will generate 1.5 MW of electricity, provide a drinking water resource and a boost to tourism.[33]

Semarang is on the Indonesian National Route 1 road, which connects it to Merak and Ketapang (Banyuwangi). Indonesian National Route 14 toward Bawen starts here. Semarang has a toll road, the Semarang Toll Road.[37] The city is connected to Solo by Semarang–Solo Toll Road.[38]

Semarang's largest bus terminals are Mangkang and Terboyo.[39] The primary means of public transportation is by minibus, called "bis". Ojek (motorcycle taxis), Angkot (share-taxi) micro-buses, taxi-cabs plays vital role in public transportation of the city. Go-Jek and Grab have online taxi and Ojek services.

Semarang is served by bus rapid transit called Trans Semarang, which operates in six routes.[40] Perum DAMRI also serves in six designated routes in the city.

Semarang Old Town seen from Semarang Tawang railway station.

Semarang was connected to Surakarta (Solo) by a rail line in 1870.[41] At present there are two large train stations in Semarang: Semarang Poncol and Semarang Tawang. Semarang is connected to Bandung, Jakarta, and Surabaya by inter-city train services. Kedungsepur commuter rail connects Semarang Poncol Station eastward to Ngrombo Station in Grobogan Regency.

Ahmad Yani International Airport.

Semarang's Ahmad Yani International Airport is served by a number of operators including AirAsia, Citilink, Batik Air, Garuda Indonesia, and Lion Air which provide services to Jakarta, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.[42] In 2018, the airport terminal was relocated to a new and much larger site; the old terminal continues to be used for government and military flights.[43]

The main seaport is the Tanjung Mas seaport.

Diponegoro University.

There are 593 elementary schools, 220 junior high schools, 106 senior high schools, and 88 vocational high schools, both public and private in Semarang.[49]

There are 20 universities in Semarang, 12 of them private and 8 public. The most renowned universities of Semarang are Diponegoro University and Soegijapranata University.

• Diponegoro University (UNDIP): It is one of national or state-owned universities in Semarang, founded in 1957. The university has 11 faculties and 2 schools: Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Fishery and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Faculty of Public Health, Faculty of Animal Agriculture, Faculty of Psychology, Vocational School, and Postgraduate School. The university also offers a postgraduate program. Diponegoro University is one of the best university in Indonesia.[50]
• Semarang State University in Indonesian Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES): It is one of national or state-owned universities in Semarang, founded in 1965. The university has 8 faculties and Postgraduate School: Faculty of Science Education, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Language and Art, Faculty of Sport Science, Faculty of Social Science, Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Law, and Faculty of mathematics and science. Semarang State University is one of the best university in Indonesia.
• Soegijapranata Catholic University (UNIKA): It is one of the private universities in Semarang, founded in 1982. There are 8 faculties in UNIKA: Faculty of Architecture and Design, Faculty of Law and Communication, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Language and Arts, Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Agricultural and Technology, Faculty of Psychology, and Faculty of Computer Science.
• Muhammadiyah University of Semarang (UNIMUS): It is one of the private universities in Semarang, founded in 1996. On 4 August 1999 the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia issued an Operational Permit for the University of Muhammadiyah Semarang with number: 139/D/O/1999. 14 study programs that obtained operational permits at the beginning of the opening in 1999 including: Public Health Study Program (Bachelor's degree), Statistics Study Program (Bachelor's degree), Mechanical Engineering Study Program (Bachelor and Diploma degree), Electrical Engineering Study Program (Bachelor and Diploma degree), Food Technology Study Program (Bachelor's degree), Agricultural Technology Study Program (Bachelor's degree), Management Study Program (Bachelor's degree), Company Administration Study Program (Diploma degree), Accounting Study Program (Diploma degree), English Language Study Program (Bachelor's degree), English Language Study Program (Diploma degree) and Japanese Language Study Program (Diploma degree).
• In Semarang, there is also a public university providing education through distance learning or distance education at Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia Open University).[51]

There are several sport centres in Semarang. Jatidiri sport centre or Jatidiri Stadium is one of the biggest sport centres in Semarang, located in Karangrejo, Gajahmungkur. The centre comprises a soccer field, in line skate track, tennis filed, climbing wall, swimming pool, and many others. The capacity of the centre is about 21,000 people.[52]

Knight Stadium is a futsal and basketball centre in Semarang, located in Grand Marina complex. There is a café and fitness centre in Knight Stadium.[53]

Lumpia Semarang.

Semarang is widely known for its bandeng presto (pressure-cooked milkfish), Lumpia, Wingko, Tahu Gimbal, and Ganjel Rel. Semarang has also been called 'The city of Jamu' because it is an important centre for the production of jamu which are a range of Indonesian herbal medicines that are popular across Indonesia[54] Semawis Market, also known as Pecinan Semarang (Semarang's Chinatown), hosts a plethora of street food vendors, offering a wide varieties of dishes.[55]

Dugderan is an annual festival in Semarang desecrated to welcome the Ramadan month (a fasting month for Moslems). The word "dug" describes the sound of bedug (traditional Indonesian musical instrument). The word "der" describes the sound of fireworks.

The icon of the festival is a special puppet dragon-like animal called Warak Ngendog. The word "warak" stands for "holy" and the word "ngendog" expresses a reward for Muslims. Warak Ngendog's feet are chained, representing people's desire that should be postponed during this holy month. As Dugderan is a festival unique for Semarang, it represents an important attraction for both local people and visitors.[56]

Suara Merdeka is the major local newspaper in Semarang, as well as Central Java. Other major newspapers include Tribun Jateng and Wawasan.

• Graaf, H. J. de (Hermanus Johannes), 1899-(?), "Chinese Muslims in Java in the 15th and 16th centuries : the Malay Annals of Semarang and Cerbon" / translated and provided with comments by H.J. de Graaf and Th.G.Th. Pigeaud; edited by M.C. Ricklefs. Publisher: [Melbourne] : Monash University, 1984. Description: xiii, 221 p. : folded map ; 21 cm. ISBN 0-86746-419-4 : Series: Monash papers on Southeast Asia ; no. 12