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Founding
Founding of Semarang
city in Central Java Province, Indonesia
- 2 May 1547
- Southeast Asia
Founding
city in Central Java Province, Indonesia
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Semarang (Javanese: ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ, Kutha Semarang) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. The city has been named as the cleanest tourist destination in Southeast Asia by the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard (ACTCS) for 2020–2022.
It has an area of 373.78 km2 (144.32 sq mi) and had a population of 1,555,984 at the 2010 census and 1,653,524 at the 2020 census, making it Indonesia's ninth most populous city after Jakarta, Surabaya, Bekasi, Bandung, Medan, Depok, Tangerang and Palembang; the official population estimate as at mid 2025 was 1,722,421 (comprising 851,637 males and 870,784 females). The built-up urban area had 3,183,516 inhabitants at the 2010 census spread over two cities and 26 districts. The Semarang metropolitan area (a.k.a. Kedungsepur) has a population of over 6 million in 2020 (see Greater Semarang section). The population of the city is predominantly Javanese with significant Chinese presence.
The history of Semarang goes back to the 9th century, when it was known as Bergota. At the end of the 15th century, the Demak Sultanate appointed an Islamic scholar named Ki Ageng Pandan Arang to build an Islamic school in this fishing village. On 2 May 1547, Sultan Hadiwijaya of Pajang declared Pandan Arang as the first bupati (mayor) of Semarang, thus creating Semarang administratively and politically.
In 1678, Sunan Amangkurat II promised to give control of Semarang to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a part of a debt payment. In 1682, the Semarang state was founded by the Dutch colonial power. On 5 October 1705 after years of occupations, Semarang officially became a VOC city when Susuhunan Pakubuwono I made a deal to give extensive trade rights to the VOC in exchange of wiping out Mataram's debt. The VOC, and later, the Dutch East Indies government, established tobacco plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre.
The historic presence of a large Indo (Eurasian) community in the area of Semarang is also reflected by the fact a creole mix language called Javindo existed there.
Semarang was handed by the Sultan of Mataram to the Dutch East Indies in 1678. The city was pictured as a small settlement with a pious Muslim area called Kauman, a Chinese quarter, and a Dutch fortress. The fortress has a pentagonal form with only one gate in the south and five monitoring towers to protect the Dutch settlement from rebellion actions, segregating the spaces between Dutch settlement and other areas. In fact, only the city of Semarang was referred to the Dutch quarter while the other ethnic settlements were considered as villages outside the city boundary. The city, known as de Europeesche Buurt, was built in classical European style with a church located in the centre, wide boulevards, streets and villas. According to Purwanto (2005), the urban and architectural form of this settlement is very similar to the design principles applied in many Dutch cities.
Due to the long and costly Java War, there was not much funding from the Dutch East Indies government, and this affected Semarang's development. Most land in the area was used for rice cultivation and the only small improvement was the development of a surrounding fortress. Although less developed, Semarang is a fairly well organized city, in which urban activities were concentrated along the river and the settlement is linked to a market where different ethnic groups met to trade. The existence of the market, in the later years, become a primary element and a generator of urban economic growth.
After the fall of Fort Cornelis in late August 1811, Governor-General Jan Willem Janssens withdrew eastward toward Central Java, making Semarang region a key corridor for his retreat and attempted regrouping. British forces under Colonel R. R. Gillespie advanced through Semarang and its hinterland toward Salatiga, engaging Dutch troops along the route. The campaign ended with Janssens’s surrender to Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty at Tuntang on 18 September 1811, which marked the transfer of Java from Dutch to British rule.
After the departure of Herman Willem Daendels, Napoleonic governor of Java, the Dutch reorganized Java into Residencies, and Semarang became the seat of the new Semarang Residency in 1817. An important influence on urban growth was the Great Mail Road project in the 1847, which connected all the cities in the northern coast of Central and East Java and positioned Semarang as the trade centre of agricultural production. The project was soon followed by the development of the Staatsspoorwegen Railway and the connecting roads into the inner city of Semarang at the end of the 19th century. Colombijn (2002) marked the development as the shift of urban functions, from the former river orientation to all services facing the roads.
The Dutch East Indies' mail and railway projects improved communication and transportation, bringing an economic boom to the city in the 1870s. Hospitals, churches, hotels, and mansions were built along the new main roads of Mataram Street, Bojongscheweg, and Pontjolscheweg. The Javanese quarters of town known as kampongs grew increasingly densely populated, reaching as many as 1000 inhabitants per hectare and degrading living conditions. Mortality remained high into the early 20th century, with newcomers, overcrowding, and poor hygiene triggering cholera and tuberculous outbreaks. Dysentery, typhoid, and malaria were also rife. The city doctor Willem T. de Vogel advocated strenuously for reducing overcrowding and improving living conditions by extending Semarang into the less malarial hill country to its south; his fellow councilman Hendrik Tillema had campaigned on a platform of combatting malaria and joined De Vogel's scheme, broadening it into a "village improvement" (Dutch: kampongverbetering) movement. Purchasing land in the heights with their own money, the two men and some friends passed it on to the city with an initial zoning plan by KPC de Bazel in 1907 but could never convince a majority of the council to support its development. Changing tack, Tillema then worked to improve the existing kampongs in the city's malarial districts by improving drainage and providing more sanitary public toilets and public housing.
A decade later, the town approved Thomas Karsten's revised plan for the area, using it to build larger villas for the Dutch and wealthy Chinese and Javanese rather than allowing its use by the poor. This area became known as Candi Baru (Dutch: Nieuw Tjandi) and forms the core of the present-day Candisari District. Although it remained highly stratified by class, Candi Baru had less ethnic segregation than the older area of town and incorporated public squares, athletic facilities, and places for public bathing and washing that could be used communally. With most work remaining in the lower city and transportation slow or expensive, few of the lower classes were interested in moving to the district but it set a pattern that was followed with three more successful housing plans between 1916 and 1919. The population grew by 55%, adding 45,000 Javanese, 8500 Chinese, and 7000 Europeans. Karsten's approach to town planning emphasized its aesthetic, practical, and social requirements articulated in economic terms rather than purely racial ones.
Driven by economic growth and spatial city planning, the city had doubled in size and expanded to the south by the 1920s, creating a nucleus of a metropolis where multi-ethnic groups lived and traded in the city. The villages in the suburbs such as Jomblang and Jatingaleh steadily became the satellite towns of Semarang, more populated with a bigger market area. Before the invasion of Japan in 1942, Semarang had already become the capital of Central Java province, as the result of trade and industrial success and spatial planning.
In 1918 the Indonesian People's Hall (Gedung Rakyat Indonesia) was established in Semarang by Sarekat Rakyat. The building functioned as a center for political and social activities, hosting meetings, congresses, and educational courses for activists. In 1927, fearing the impact activities there, the Dutch colonial government ordered its closure.
The Japanese military occupied the city, along with the rest of Java, in 1942, during the Pacific War of World War II. During that time, Semarang was headed by a military governor called a Shiko, and two vice governors known as Fuku Shiko. One of the vice governors was appointed from Japan, and the other was "chosen" from the local population.
After Indonesian independence in 1945, Semarang became the capital of Central Java on 18 August 1945, headed by Mr. Moch.Ichsan.
On the afternoon of 17 August 1945, news of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence reached Semarang. At 12:30 p.m. the following day, activists, youth, politicians, indigenous government officials, and other community leaders—including Mr. KRT Wongsonegoro, Subandrio, and Ibnu Parna—gathered in Purusara (Pusat Rumah Sakit Rakyat, People's Central Hospital) (present day Kariadi Hospital) to discuss their response to the proclamation. The meeting resolved to establish a local government under the authority of the Republic of Indonesia, with Wongsonegoro as its head. The outcome of this assembly was published in the Sinar Baru newspaper on 19 August 1945.
It also became the site of a battle (Five days battle, Pertempuran lima hari) between the new Indonesian military and Japanese soldiers in October 1945. Shortly after that, what had been the Indonesia-conducted Ambarawa, Magelang, and Ungaran offensives reached Semarang city on 15 December 1945, causing an 87-day battle that swept away the British and Dutch military completely.
On 1 March 1906, based on Staatsblad of 1906 no. 120, Semarang was officially designated as a city (stadsgemeente or kota madya), covering an area of 9,940 ha.
Semarang city administration is headed by mayor, with a legislative assembly. Both mayor and the 50 members of legislative assembly are elected by direct vote. The government of Semarang City had implemented the smart city concept since 2013.
Juridically, Semarang City is a municipality (second level area) consisting of 16 districts (kecamatan), which are again divided into 177 urban villages (kelurahan). The districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and 2020 census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2025. The table also includes the number and names of the urban administrative villages in each district.
Semarang is located on the northern coast of Java. The municipality lies between 6°50′ and 7°10′ south latitude and 109°35′ and 110°50′ east longitude. It is bounded by Kendal Regency to the west, Demak Regency to the east, Semarang Regency to the south, and the Java Sea to the north. Its coastline is 13.6 km long and its area is 373.78 km². The municipality's elevation ranges from 0.75 to 348 metres above sea level.
Lowland areas in Semarang City are very narrow. The lowland area in western Semarang only has a width of 4 km (2.5 miles) from the coastline, while in the eastern Semarang, the low-lying area has a width of 11 km (6.8 miles) from the coastline. This lowland area is a flood plain from the large rivers that flow in Semarang City, such as Kali Garang (West Flood Canal), Pengkol River, and Bringin River. This low-lying area stretches on the northern side of Semarang and covers almost 40% of the total area of Semarang. This lowland area is known as the lower town (Semarang Ngisor), as well as the center of the city's economic activity. Under these conditions, the lower city area is often hit by annual flooding and its peak during the rainy season. In a number of regions, especially North Semarang, floods are sometimes also caused by overflowing sea tides (tidal floods). The hilly area in Semarang stretches on the south side. These hills are part of a series of northern Java mountain ranges that stretch from Banten to East Java. The hilly area in the city of Semarang is known as the upper city (Semarang Dhuwur). This hilly region is also the upstream area of the big rivers that flow in the city of Semarang. The upper city area is also near Mount Ungaran.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Semarang”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.