As the name suggest, this is an area to revisiting the past~
I’ve written about Old Town Surabaya before, as many people are more familiar with it. However, across the main street, there’s an open space called History Park. After the old town area being revitalized, the government decided to renovate this park as well. Since this area has become a gathering place for various levels of society, what’s featured in the park also purposely serves people's needs. Let's explore!
If you see this park from the main road, the first thing that catches the intention is probably the car display in front of the park. From the information-board provided, that’s a replica of a sedan that retrieved Brigadier AWS Mallaby and stopped forever in front of the Internatio Building, at the Heerenstraat and Willemsplein Streets (now known as Jayengrono Street).
From what I've read, the building was originally called the Internationale Crediten Handelvereeniging (International Credit and Trade Association) and now is a protected cultural heritage site.
The events on that day were recorded as one of the most significant moments in the Indonesian Revolutionary War of Independence in my hometown Surabaya on November 10th 1945. November 10th is actually commemorated as Heroes' Day because it symbolizes the courage and sacrifice of the Indonesian people against colonialism. This battle became a milestone in the spirit of nationalism and the struggle to maintain independence.
The History Park has an open space in the center, with a small corner for a children's playground and a small yard for playing soccer or basketball. The courtyard used to have some skate obstacles so skaters could use the space as well, but they decided to replace them, I believe when they renovated the area. The park isn’t particularly large, but I think it has plenty of nooks where people can relax alongside the open space area. However, the open space is great for jogging around or playing badminton.
The History Park is located right in front of Surabaya's oldest shopping center called JMP (Jembatan Merah Plaza). Jembatan Merah which means red bridge, is a historical site of battles and heroism in my city. So, Jembatan Merah is one of the important points and witnesses to the struggle of the people of Surabaya against the Allied forces.
There are several information-boards set up throughout the park about the city’s history, so we can read them to understand. Even as a local myself, I'm not really familiar nor have an enough understanding about the history of my city either, so that’s very helpful. For example, there’s a photo that shows the atmosphere of the Jembatan Merah and Kembang Jepun Street in 1980, which is known as Surabaya's main business center at that time.
It somehow feels nostalgic even though I didn’t live in that era. The atmosphere seems very lively, but it feels like a different kind of "alive" compared to today. Traditional transportation might be the main reason why, as people used to ride horse-drawn carriages back in the day. The main road also seems undivided, which is different from how it is now as you can see in the picture below.
There’s also a museum in this area. As far as I know, the only museum that is located here is De Javasche Bank Museum. But there’s another building that looks like a museum right next to the history park that I once entered. Perhaps the one I visited is Internatio Building.
De Javasche Bank Museum sounds like a great destination, but I still don’t know how to get in or if it’s open on Sunday, so unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to visit it yet. Maybe next time :)
On Sunday morning, usually many cyclist come around the area and just have good time, myself included. I know the picture below looks so bad, but I hope you can feel the atmosphere😁
That's a little story of revisiting Historical Events at the History Park Surabaya. Thank you so much for reading as always, upvote for more content like this and reblog is also appreciated :) Have a great day, hivers!
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