Hello everyone, how are you? I hope you're okay. last week, I did a short vacation to the thousand islands. In this article, I want to tell you about Kelor Island, one of the islands that I visited. On the island there is a very famous fort. This building, has been slightly eroded by water. The name of the Fort is Fort Martello. In the fort area there are still preserved cannons.
Fort Martello, also known as the Round Fort, was one of the Dutch fortifications. The fort was built from 1850 to 1878 which served as a watchtower. After this fort served as a gunpowder warehouse.
From the information I got, this fort has a diameter of 23 meters and a wall thickness of 2.5 meters. The walls have rows of large and small windows. It has a number of enclosed Chambers that serve to store ammunition.
For the watchtower, it consists of three levels. The building is made of brick walls. This fort also began to suffer severe damage due to the earthquake and tsunami caused by the eruption of Mount Krakatoa in 1883. Starting in 1908, the fort was no longer used. Currently, this fort is included in the top 50 awards for Indonesian tourist villages in 2021.
It is included in the European design and architecture of the 18th to 19th centuries. The building is adapted to the style of the fortress tower located at mortella point, France. The hallmark of this fort is a tubular tower with thick brick walls.
Based on the state of its original form, from the information I obtained, that this building consists of 2-3 floors surrounded by a moat. Then the roof of the fort was leveled to lay the cannons. The first floor is filled with kitchens, supply rooms, powder, and armory. Do not forget there is a water reservoir.
In the past, it would also be built on other islands such as onrust, cipir, elf, mathilde reef and trigosson. However, the forts at Mathilde Reef and Trigosson were stopped. For another island in 1871 it began to turn into a storage warehouse.
The tower on the island of Moringa began to be restored in 1908. The fort on the island of Bidadari is still intact. While onrust and cipir islands only the foundation remains. From the information I have, if this fort was also founded at another beginning in 1850-1850.
After all, the island of a thousand is the entry point for other countries to Indonesia. So the Dutch guarded the island. From a distance, I can't believe the fort. This trip is amazing. The rest of the buildings are still intact in this place. I was lucky to be able to visit this place.
Nurdiani Latifah
My name is Nurdiani Latifah. I currently live in Jakarta – Indonesia, after 25 years I live in Bandung. I am a media staff at an NGO in Indonesia. I have worked in this institution for almost 2 years on issues of women and peace. I had been a journalist in Bandung for 3 years.
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