Lawang Sewu, a building full of mystery

History of Lawang Sewu

For citizens of Central Java, the name of Lawang Sewu familiar. This is the name of an ancient building which is located right in the middle of the city of Semarang, precisely in the Tugu Muda. Called "Lawang sewu" (door thousand) for the Dutch heritage of the building is indeed a lot of doors.

Lawang sewu built in 1908, which is done by the Dutch architect and Klinkkaner Professor Quendaag. Year 1920, this building began to be used as the headquarters Nederlandsch Indische Spoor-weg Maatschapij (NIS), an airline or railway company's first in Indonesia, which was founded in 1864.
The first point is served at Semarang - Yogyakarta. Development path that begins June 17, 1864, marked by the break ground by the Governor General of Dutch East Indies Beele Sloet van Den. Three years later, ie July 19, 1868 a train carrying passengers who had served the public as far as track 25 km from Semarang to Liability.

With the operation of these pathways, the NIS needs to carry out office work, administrative work. Selected locations and at the end of the road is Bojong (now Jalan Pemuda). Location is Pandanaran Road intersection, Jalan Dr Soetomo, and Siliwangi Road (now Jalan Soegijapranata).

At that time the architect who gained the confidence to make the design is Ir P de Rieau. There are a few blueprints of the building, including a 387 Ned. Ind. Maatschappij Spooweg made in February 1902, A 388 E Idem Lengtedoorsnede in September 1902, and A 541 NISM Semarang Voorgevel Langevlenel made in 1903. Third blueprint was made in Amsterdam.

But until Sloet Van Den Beele died, the building construction has not begun. The Dutch government then appointed Prof. Jacob K Klinkhamer in Delft and BJ Oudang to build the NIS building in Semarang with reference to the Dutch style of architecture.
The selected location is an area of 18,232 square meters at the end of Bojong Road, adjacent to the Road and Road Pandanaran Dr Soetomo. It seems that position later inspired two of the Dutch architecture to create a building with wings, consisting of the main building, the left wing and right wing.
Prior to the construction performed, potential building sites dredged depth of 4 meters. Further excavation was covering it with sand taken from the volcanic Mount Merapi.

The first foundation was made February 27, 1904 with heavy concrete construction and on it then set up a stone wall of china. All the essential materials imported from Europe, except brick, stone mountain, and teak.
Every day hundreds of indigenous people working on this building. Official Sewu used mace on 1 July 1907. In the process, Lawang Sewu also associated with the history of the five-day battle in Semarang is centered in the region proliman (Simpanglima) that is currently known as Tugu Muda.
When fighting erupted five days in Semarang, 14-18 August 1945, Lawangsewu and around the center of a battle between the Indonesian army and the Japanese army. On the historic occasion, killed tens of Railway Youth (AMKA). Five of them were buried in the front yard Sewu Lawang. They are:

* Noersam,
* Salamoen,
* Roesman,
* RM Soetardjo, and
* RM Moenardi.

To commemorate them, on the left side entrance (gate) was erected a monument bearing the name of the Indonesian fighters who died.

Railway company then handed the front yard area of 3542.40 square meters in Semarang Municipality Government. Meanwhile, five bodies in the grave yard, July 2, 1975 was moved to the Heroes Cemetery with the Inspector's singles Giri Ceremony Soepardjo Roestam Governor of Central Java.

Mysteries in Lawang Sewu

Lawang Sewu is full of mystery, of strange events that smelled mystical and not just 1 or 2 times. Then Lawang Sewu be a place to test his nerve in certain rooms of which must have haunted. Perhaps the strange events related to the atrocities that Japan invaded Indonesia during the world war 2.
Here is the room in Lawang Sewu now known armature and made the first in an underground detention

1. Prison stood: prisoners put into a room roughly the size of width 1 × 1 meter of 6 people. They were then given water at the knee and then in brackets stand. With such a narrow measure is not possible to squat, squat even if they would sleep the water. They would be locked up until his death.

2. Prison squat: prisoners had to sit crouched in a room approximately 1.5 m wide and 1 m of height from 7 to 8 people and also confined to the dead.

3. Venue beheadings: reply to rebel prisoners, the beheading will be done, in a bathtub. There was still no reply pemenggal tool rusty. After the severed head and body and secretly in the river plunged underground with the road.

4. Chained Body: The body chained, and then they were tortured, either at the whip, burnt with cigarettes, or other means

possible that strange events were related to the Japanese atrocities in former times? Clear the mysteries are not solved until now

But the old buildings of this firm is still the potential to become an attractive tourist