Lojiwetan: The Image of Dutch Colonial Era in Solo City

[caption id="attachment_180688" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (1)"] [/caption]

In 2009, I helped my brother, Satrio Budi Utomo to look for school. He finally decided to register in SMP Negeri 11 Surakarta, one of government junior high schools in Solo City and thank god he was finally accepted. One thing that made me surprised and impressed, that school was surrounded by many old buildings with Dutch colonial style. At that time, I had not yet passed the area because that place was located in small aisle (Sungai Kapuas Street) that I did not commonly pass.  The area has the name "Lojiwetan". It comes from two Javanese words: loji (house) and wetan (east). Thus, Lojiwetan means the houses which are located in the eastern part of Surakarta Palace.

[caption id="attachment_180689" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (2)"]

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Historically, the area was the housing complex for Dutch people who stayed in Solo. The concept to make this housing area was related to the building of Vastenburg Fort in 1745 which was made by Dutch Government to control and oppose Surakarta Palace from the era of  King Pakubuwono II. So Lojiwetan was as residences for the Dutch officials including for those who worked in Vastenburg Fort. The distance between Lojiwetan and Vastenburg Fort is very near, just walking five minutes to reach each other.

[caption id="attachment_180691" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (3)"]

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Now, the houses are used by three ethnics: Javanese, Chinese, and Arabic. The condition of houses are also various, some are still well preserved while some others are terribly bad. Even. there are some buildings which have been demolished and replaced by new modern buildings.

[caption id="attachment_180692" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (4)"]

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[/caption] When people pass this street, they can still feel the atmosphere of Dutch Colonial era from the tough wall and some ornaments which are typical to European architecture. It can be your option to see when you go to Solo City. Before you go there, you may enjoy these photos first! [caption id="attachment_180693" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (5)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180695" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (6)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180696" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (7)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180698" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (8)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180699" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (9)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180700" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (10)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180701" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (11)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180702" align="aligncenter" width="524" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (11)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180704" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (12)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180705" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (13)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180706" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The house in Lojiwetan, Solo City (14)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180707" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="The street in Lojiwetan, Solo City (1)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180708" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="The street in Lojiwetan, Solo City (2)"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180709" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="A Pentecost Church in Lojiwetan, Solo City "]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180710" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Becak passed by in Lojiwetan, Solo City"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180711" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Jamu, the Indonesian traditional medicine sold by a seller by going around Lojiwetan by bike"]

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[/caption] [caption id="attachment_180712" align="aligncenter" width="550" caption="Kerupuk (Indonesian traditional cracker) seller passed SMP Neger1 11, a government junior high school located in Lojiwetan, Solo City"]

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