06 September 2006

Launching : Jakarta City Encyclopedia


Do you know when Hotel Indonesia was built -- or how ? Who opened it and when? Who were its architects?
The answers to these questions, and just about any other you might care to ask about Jakarta's history, can been found in the new three-volume Ensiklopedia Jakarta: Culture and Heritage, launched Wednesday (August 30, 2006) night at City Hall by the Jakarta Cultural and Museum Agency.
The encyclopedia is currently only available in Bahasa Indonesia and is not for sale. Just 500 copies have been printed and will be distributed to schools and libraries. Jakarta's history and cultural sites, important figures, literature, art, environment, architecture and even food are covered in the three volumes, delivering interesting insights to the social past of the city.
The Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta, for example, has a large entry dedicated to its history. H.I., as the hotel is more commonly known, was the first luxury international hotel in Indonesia. It was built in 1959 using reparation funds from Japan. Soekarno, president at the time, officially opened the hotel on Aug. 5, 1962.