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| Jakarta National Monument |
The National Monument or popularly abbreviated as Monas or Tugu Monas is a 132-meter (433 ft) memorial monument erected to commemorate the resistance and struggle of the Indonesian people to win independence from the Dutch East Indies colonial government. The construction of this monument began on August 17, 1961, under the order of President Sukarno, and was opened to the public on July 12, 1975. This monument is crowned with a flame covered with gold leaf which symbolizes the burning spirit of struggle. The National Monument is located right in the middle of Medan Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta. This monument and museum is open every day from 08.00 - 15.00 WIB. On Monday last week of every month is closed to the public.
The history
After the center of government of the Republic of Indonesia returned to Jakarta after previously being based in Yogyakarta in 1950 following the recognition of the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia by the Dutch government in 1949, President Soekarno began planning the construction of a national monument equivalent to the Eiffel Tower in the field right in front of the Merdeka Palace. The construction of the National Monument monument aims to commemorate and preserve the struggle of the Indonesian nation during the 1945 independence revolution so that it continues to inspire the next generation of inspiration and spirit of patriotism.
On August 17, 1954, a national committee was formed, and a national monument design competition was held in 1955. There were 51 works entered, but only one work made by Frederich Silaban met the criteria determined by the committee, which included depicting the character of the Indonesian nation and being able to survive for centuries. The second contest was held in 1960 but once again none of the 136 participants met the criteria. The head of the jury then asked Silaban to show his design to Sukarno. However, Sukarno did not like the design and he wanted the monument to be in the form of a phallus and a yoni. Silaban was then asked to design a monument with a theme like that, but the design submitted by Silaban was too extraordinary so the costs were very large and the state budget could not afford it, especially since the economic conditions at that time were quite bad. Silaban refused to design a smaller building and suggested that construction be delayed until Indonesia's economy improved.
Soekarno then asked the architect R.M. Soedarsono to resume the draft. Soedarsono included the numbers 17, 8, and 45, symbolizing the August 17, 1945 start of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, into the design of the monument. The National Memorial was then built in an area of 80 hectares. This monument was designed by Friedrich Silaban and R. M. Soedarsono, and construction began on August 17, 1961.
Development stage
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| Construction Inspection 1963-1964 |
The development consists of three stages. The first stage, the period 1961/1962-1964/1965 began with the official start of construction on August 17, 1961, with Sukarno ceremoniously driving the first concrete peg.
A total of 284 concrete pegs are used as the building foundation. A total of 360 pegs were implanted earth for the foundation of the national history museum. Overall laying of the foundations was completed in March 1962. The museum wall at the base of the building was completed in October. Construction of the obelisk then began and was finally completed in August 1963. The second phase of construction took place from 1966 to 1968 due to the 1965 September 30 Movement (G-30-S/PKI) and the coup attempt, this stage was delayed. The final stage took place from 1969-1976 by adding a diorama at the history museum. Although the construction has been completed, problem still occurs, such as a water leak that flooded the museum. Monument officially opened to the public and was inaugurated on July 12, 1975, by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Soeharto. The location of the construction of this monument is known as Medan Merdeka. Monas Field has changed its name five times, namely Gambir Field, Ikada Field, Merdeka Square, Monas Square, and Monas Park. Around the monument, there is a garden, two ponds, and several open fields where exercise. On holidays, Medan Merdeka is filled with visitors who enjoy the views of the Monas Monument and carry out various activities in the park.
Design the National Monument Building
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| Monas is in the Development Stage |
The design of the Monas Monument is based on the concept of an eternal universal pair; Linga and Yoni. The towering obelisk is the phallus which symbolizes men, the masculine element which is active and positive and symbolizes daylight. While the court of the obelisk base is Yoni which symbolizes women, the passive and negative feminine elements, and symbolizes the night.
Linga and yoni are symbols of fertility and harmonious unity that complement each other since prehistoric Indonesia. Besides that, the shape of the Monas Monument can also be interpreted as a pair of "pestle" and "Lesung", a rice pounder found in every traditional Indonesian farming household. Thus the design of Monas is full of dimensions typical of Indonesian culture. The monument consists of a 117.7-meter obelisk on a 17-meter-high square platform, the courtyard of the cup. This monument is covered with Italian marble.
The 25 x 25-meter pond in Medan Merdeka Utara Park was designed as part of the air conditioning system as well as to enhance the appearance of Monas Park. Nearby there is a fountain and a statue of Prince Diponegoro riding his horse, made of bronze weighing 8 tons. The statue was created by the Italian sculptor, Prof. Coberlato as a donation by the Honorary Consulate General, Dr. Mario Bross in Indonesia. The entrance to Monas is in the Medan Merdeka Utara park near the Prince Diponegoro statue.
The entrance is through a tunnel that is 3 m below the park and crosses the National Monument, the entrance for visitors to the Monas monument. The ticket booth is at the end of the tunnel. When visitors climb back to ground level on the north side of the National Monument, visitors can continue to walk around looking at the reliefs of the history of Indonesia's struggle; in the museum of national history through the door in the northeast corner, or straight up into the middle towards the independence of the courts or the elevator to the top of the monument.
Indonesian History Relief
At each corner of the outer courtyard surrounding the monument, there are reliefs depicting Indonesian history. This relief begins in the northeast corner by perpetuating the glory of the Archipelago in the past; displays the history of Singhasari and Majapahit.
This relief continues chronologically clockwise to the southeast, southwest, and northwest corners. Chronologically depicting the Dutch colonial period, the resistance of the Indonesian people and Indonesian national heroes, the formation of modern organizations fighting for Indonesia's independence in the early 20th century, the Youth Pledge, the Japanese Occupation, and World War II, the proclamation of Indonesian independence followed by the Revolution and the Republican War of Independence. Indonesia, until it reaches the development period of modern Indonesia. These reliefs and statues are made of cement with a pipe or metal framework, but some of the statues and statues look unkempt and damaged due to rain and tropical weather.
Historical Diorama Museum
At the base of the monument at a depth of 3 meters below ground level, there is the Indonesian National History Museum. The large space of the national struggle history museum with an area of 80 x 80 meters, can accommodate visitors of around 500 people. This large marble-lined room has 48 dioramas on all four sides and 3 dioramas in the middle, making a total of 51 dioramas. This diorama shows the history of Indonesia from pre-history to the New Order period. This diorama starts from the northeast corner moving clockwise through the history of Indonesia; starting from prehistoric times, the times of ancient empires such as Sriwijaya and Majapahit, followed by the European colonialism followed by the resistance of the pre-independence national heroes against the VOC and the Dutch East Indies government. The dioramas continued until the time of the early 20th-century Indonesian national movement, the Japanese occupation, the war of independence, and the revolutionary period, until the New Order era during the Suharto era.
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| View of the City of Jakarta from the top of the National Monument |
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