5 interesting facts about the city of Jakarta that are rarely known!
Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia which always lives 24 hours, a metropolis that is super crowded with people with all their busy lives. In fact, the level of activity is one of the highest in the Southeast Asian Region. In 2023, the age of the city of Jakarta has reached 496 years. And Jakarta has many interesting facts that you must know. Let’s discuss it together!
It has the Biggest Stadium in the World
During the reign of President Soekarno, Jakarta undertook the construction of a large-scale project namely Gelora Bung Karno, Istiqlal Mosque, and the National Monument. At that time, the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium was completed in 1962 and was included in the row of the largest stadiums in the world. That’s super! That’s because the initial capacity of the stadium reached 100,000 people. The development of Bung Karno’s surge has also spent US$12.5 million in the state budget from soft loans from the Soviet Union. Now the capacity of Glora Bung Karno is around 88 thousand people and is the 7th largest stadium in the world.
15 Times Name Change
Before being known as Jakarta, this city apparently changed its name a lot. The famous name “Batavia” right? Though there is much more than that. In fact, the total reached 15 times. The first was on June 22, 1527 Jakarta was named Jayakarta, then changed to Stad Batavia in 1961, then Gemeente Batavia (1905), Stad Gemeente Batavia (1953), Jakarta Toko Betsu Shi when it was under Japanese rule in 1945.
In February 1950 the name Stad Gemeente Batavia was withdrawn again, changing again to Kota Praj’a Jakarta (1950), Kota Praja Djakarta Raya (1958), Government of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta Raya (1961), Jakarta (1964), and finally since 1999 until now we are familiar with the Provincial Government of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, or DKI Jakarta.
The Biggest Wholesale Center in Southeast Asia
Who doesn’t know the Tanah Abang wholesale center? Almost everyone knows that. The wholesale center that we are familiar with is located in Central Jakarta and is one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Since August 30, 1735 by the landlord Yustinus Vinck, the Tanah Abang market used to only operate on Saturdays, not on other days. Over time, this market has continued to grow and transform into a modern wholesale center with a number of stalls selling up to 10,000, and has become a destination for entrepreneurs and the public to stop by when arriving in Jakarta.
Rich in Museums
Even though the people of Jakarta are fairly modern and dynamic, the city still maintains historical and cultural values with the establishment of many museums. There are at least 74 museums that you can visit for historical intake when you are on vacation, including the National Museum, the Bank Indonesia Museum, the Bank Mandiri Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the National Police Museum, the Kite Museum, the National Awakening Museum, the Youth Pledge Museum, and many more.
Has Many Apartment and Skyscrapers
It’s no stranger if Jakarta is full of towering buildings. It’s even ranked 14th in the world because there are so many apartment buildings that are more than 150 meters high, you know! There are at least 91 skyscrapers that beat Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Seoul, London and other big cities. Rows of high-rise apartments crowding the city of Jakarta will be very beautiful twinkling at night from a height.
When you go to Jakarta for vacation or work, of course it will be very easy to find an apartment or hotel for a place to stay and do business because there are so many apartments in Jakarta with various price options and facilities. Like the one in North Jakarta, the Oakwood PIK Jakarta apartment which stands very majestically on the edge of Indah Kapuk beach. The name of this apartment is very well known in Jakarta, even among celebrities and big businessmen.