Visiting Lawang Sewu in Semarang Java

A short distance from Simpang Lima is a one of the landmarks of Semarang, the old Dutch administrative building said to have 1,000 doors.

I think that number is a little high although there are a lot. The place is not used these days for any specific purpose and when Ika and showed up we simply talked to the man in the little hut at the entrance. I said I wanted to go in and he said the price of admission would be anything we wanted to donate. I gave 5,000rp.

The fellow took around and showed us the deserted corridors, stained glass windows and separate rooms. After the Dutch took off during WWII the building was occupied by Javanese fighters trying to make a stand against the invading Japanese.

I asked who was victorious and was told the Javenese were.….of course.

The guide showed us a metal cross-beam that had been split by a Japanese shell. On the ground floor of the building the Indonesian fighters had written inspiring thoughts on the walls such as We must stay strong, We must be smart.

Our tour of the building took about 20 minutes and it was cool to see a relic of another time. The building itself was built in 1863 making it 100 years younger than me. Man that makes me feel old!

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