Kota Lama Old Town

OLD TOWN

 

Due to its Dutch architectural heritage, Semarang is often referred to as the "Little Netherlands". The best place to see these relics is in the Old Town district. One of the most iconic heritage buildings here is the Gereja Blenduk (the Bulging Church), Built in 1753, this church and its distinctive, round dome still actively welcome a congregation every weekend. The church's colonial roots, which have now been integrated into the Javanese culture, remains a palpable fixtures through the wooden chairs that spread out on old-fashioned floor, alongside spiral staircases and a gigantic organ that no longer hums.

“An amazing grandeur church..”

This is a magnificent church. An old but grandeur one, and it lies in the city. When I came it is still undergone restoration. In front of the church there's a good restaurant with tasty food. 

“The Grand Old Dame of Semarang”

Built by the Dutch in 1753, this beautiful Protestant church still stands magnificently in brilliant white in the old town area of Semarang. The building is strikingly attractive with a large copper-skinned dome in the middle and flanked by two clock towers on either side of its main entrance.

If you think the exterior exudes so much grandeur, the well-kept interior would bowl you over, especially the heavy wooden doors, stained glass, old dark timber, a very rare piano & even a cast iron spiral staircase leading to the music stage upstairs. The pews are actually made of individual antique wooden-framed rattan chairs arranged in neat rows on the ground & upper floors, thus giving it a theatre-like arrangement. There is a unique pulpit which sits on a raised wooden platform & seems like hung from the wall (see attached pictures)

This splendid heritage has been very well preserved and attracts not only foreign tourists but also local visitors, photography buffs, wedding groups and also because of its excellent condition, still holds regular church services for its Protestant community. Gereja Blenduk is a must-see for any visitor to Semarang.

KOTA LAMA

Mengoleksi banyak bangunan warisan Belanda, Semarang pun kerap dijuluki "Little Netherland". Tempat terbaik untuk menyaksikan aneka artefak tersebut adalah kawasan Kota Lama. Gereja Blenduk, salah satu ikon Kota Lama, dibangun pada 1753 dan hingga kini masih melayani Jemaah saban akhir pekan. Nuansa kolonial yang berpadu kultur Jawa masih kental terasa lewat suguhan kursi-kursi kayu yang tersebar di atas lantai kuno, tangga ulir, serta orgel raksasa yang tak lagi berdendang.

Gereja Blenduk (kadang-kadang dieja Gereja Blendug dan seringkali dilafazkan sebagai mBlendhug) adalah Gereja Kristen tertua di Jawa Tengah yang dibangun oleh masyarakat Belanda yang tinggal di kota itu pada 1753, dengan bentuk heksagonal (persegi delapan). Gereja ini sesungguhnya bernama Gereja GPIB Immanuel, di Jl. Letjend. Suprapto 32. Kubahnya besar, dilapisi perunggu, dan di dalamnya terdapat sebuah orgel Barok. Arsitektur di dalamnya dibuat berdasarkan salib Yunani. Gereja ini direnovasi pada 1894 oleh W. Westmaas dan H.P.A. de Wilde, yang menambahkan kedua menara di depan gedung gereja ini. Nama Blenduk adalah julukan dari masyarakat setempat yang berarti kubah. Gereja ini hingga sekarang masih dipergunakan setiap hari Minggu. Di sekitar gereja ini juga terdapat sejumlah bangunan lain dari masa kolonial Belanda.

Berikut ini adalah daftar pendeta yang bertugas di gereja ini sejak gereja ini dibangun hingga saat ini. Daftar ini dapat ditemukan di inskripsi yang terdapat di dinding gedung gereja.

1. Johannes Wilhelmus Swemmelaar (1753 – 60)
2. David Daniel van Vianen (1760 – 62)
3. Simon Gideon (1762 – 66)
4. Cornelius Coetzier (1766 – 72)
5. Jonas van Pietersom Ramring (1767 – 70)
6. Johannes Lipsius (1772 – 76)
7. HermanusWachter (1777)
8. Fredericus Montanus (1778 – 1814)
9. Gottlob Bruckner (1814 – 1816)
10. Dr.Diederik Lenting (1816 – 17)
11. Gerardus van den Bijllaard (1819)
12. Dr.Diederik Lenting (1819 – 20)
13. Gerardus van den Bijllaard (1820 – 21)
14. Dominicus Anne Manstra (1821-27 RIP)
15. Pieter van Laren (1828 – 36)
16. Cornelis Pieter Lammers van Toorenburg (1836 – 40)
17. Johannes Hendrik van Rossum (1840 – 43)
18. Frederik Ulrich van Hengel (1843)
19. Hendrik Herman Schiff (1844 – 47)
20. Jan Jurrien Scheuer (1847 – 51)
21. Frederik Corneille van der Maar van Kulleler (1851 – 64)
22. Frederik Ulrich van Hengel (1860 – 71)
23. Pieter Leonard de Gaay Fortman (1864 – 66)
24. Joseph Karel Kam (1866 – 69)
25. Albert van Davelaar (1869 – 73)
26. Barend Johannes Ovink (1871 – 72)
27. Frederic Johan Jacobus Prins (1872 – 75)
28. Caspar Adam Laurens van Trootensburg de Bruijn (1873)
29. Hendrik Sanders Balsem (1873 – 74)
30. Haijte van Ameijdem van Duijm (1874 – 1885)
31. Barend Johannes Ovink (1875 – 1888)
32. Jan Faber (1885 – 87)
33. Ijnze Radersma (1886 – 89)
34. Haijte van Ameijdem van Duijm (1887 – 90)
35. Willem Mallinckredt (1899 – 94)
36. Dr.Wouterus van Lingen (1890 – 95)
37. Cornelis Rogge (1892 – 94)
38. Abraham Samuel Carpentier Alting (1895 – 97)
39. Willem van Griethuijsen (1895 – 97)
40. Dr.Wouterus van Lingen (1897)
41. Joan Frederic Verhoeff (1897 – 98)
42. Johan Hendrik Christiaan Israel (1898 – 99)
43. Johannes Cornelis Ijsbrand Bussingh de Vries (1898 – 1900)
44. Joan Frederic Verhoeff (1899 – 1904)
45. Dr.Aart Christian van Leeuwen (1900 – 04 RIP)
46. Johannes Cornelis Ijsbrand Bussingh de Vries (1904 – 04)
47. Johan Hendrik Christiaan Israel (1903)
48. Jean Henri de Vries (1904 – 07)
49. Dr.Wouterus van Lingen (1904 – 06)
50. Ari Adama (1905 – 05)
51. Joan Frederic Verhoeff (1907 – 08)
52. Tonke Pilon (1908 – 10)
53. Evert van Loon (1909 – 10)
54. Richeld Willem Frans Kyftenbelt (1910 – 11)
55. Georg Hennemann (1910 – 11)
56. Johannes Mechtelinus Coops (1911 – 12)
57. Abraham Hagedoorn (1911 – 19)
58. Warner van Griethuysen (1912 – 14)
59. Jan Brink (1914 – 21)
60. Dirk Jacobus Leepel (1919 – 20)
61. Bernardus Johannes Audier (1920 – 22)
62. Johannes Mechtelinus Coops (1921 – 27)
63. Gerrit Jan Reindert Langen (1922 – 28)
64. Johannes Arnoidus Rudolf Terlet (1927 – 29)
65. Gijsbert Cornelis Anton Adriaan van den Wijngaard (1928 – 30)
66. Bernardus Matthijs van Tangerloo (1930 – 33)
67. Hermanus Sterrenga (1930 – 31)
68. Johannes Matthijs Lindeijer (1931 – 34)
69. Karel Frederik Creutzberg (1933 – 34)
70. Jacques Louis Brinkerink (1934)
71. Cornelis Bastiaan Boere (1934 – 36)
72. George Willem Cornelis Vunderink (1935 – 41)
73. Wijsbrands Gerardus Redingius (1935 – 40)
74. Karel Frederik Creutzberg (1936 – 40)
75. Johana Hermina Stegeman (1940 – 41)
76. Floris Egbertus van Leeuwen (1940 – 43)
77. Johan Carel Hamel (1941 – 42)
78. Eppa Smith (1945 – 46)
79. Casper Spoor (1946 – 49)
80. W.H.F. Ter Braak (1947 – 49)
81. Eppa Smith (1949 – 54)
82. de Haart (1954 – 60)
83. Richard Palii (1954 – 60)
84. Willem Bernard Warouw (1960 – 63)
85. Augustinus Roberth Molle (1963 – 67)
86. Jan Frederick Hattu (1967 – 78)
87. Rein Robert Daada (1978 – 84)
88. Yopie Hukom, S.Th. (1984 – 88)
89. Theofilus Natumnea, S.Th. (1988 – 92)
90. Rudolf Andreas Tendean, S.Th. (1992 – 95)
91. Markus Kurami Tumakaka, S.Th. (1995 – 98)
92. Meyer Meindert Pontoh, S.Th. (1998 – now)