JAKARTA OLD CITY

Jakarta Old city (Kota Tua Jakarta), also known as old Jakartaand Old Batavia (Oud Batavia), is a small area in Jakarta, Indonesia. This special region spans 1.3 square kilometres of North Jakarta and West Jakarta (Kelurahan Pinangsia, Taman Sari and Kelurahan Malaka Roa, Tambora).

Nicknamed "The jewel of Asia" and "Queen of the East" in the 16th century by European sailors, old Jakarta — or Batavia, which was named by the Dutch, it was considered a center of trade for the continent due to its strategic location and fertile resources.
HISTORY

In 1526, Fatahillah sent by Sultanate of Demak, invade Hindu Pajajaran main Sunda port, and to change the name of the port to Jayakarta. This city is only 15 hectares in size and the traditional coastal city Java. In 1619 VOC had destroyed Jayakarta under the command of Jan Pieterzoon Coen. A year later VOC build a new city called "Batavia" in honor of Dutch Batavieren, the ancestors. This city centered on the eastern shore of the Ciliwung River, around the present day Fatahillah square.

The inhabitant of Batavia are called "Batavianen", later known as "betawi" people, the ethnic Creoles, the descendants of mixed various ethnicities that has inhabited Batavia.
In 1635, the city expanded towards the Western banks of Ciliwung, on the ruins of the former Jayakarta. The city was designed in European Dutch style completed with Fortress (Casteel Batavia), the wall of the city and channels. The city was organized into several blocks separated with canals. The city of Batavia was completed in 1650. Are converted at the Centre of VOC in the East Indies. The channels was dissolved due to the outbreak of tropical diseases in the wall of the city because of problems of sanitation and hygiene. The city began to expand further South as epidemics in 1835 and 1870 encouraged more people to move far south of the port, to Weltevreden area (now the area around the Merdeka square). The city became the administrative center of colonial Dutch East Indies. In 1942, during the Japanese occupation, the city's name changed to Jakarta and now serves as the capital city of Indonesia.

In 1972, the Governor of Jakarta Ali Sadikin issued a decree that officially the Jakarta Kota area on a world heritage site. The decision of the Governor was necessary in order to preserve the architectural roots of the city, or at least what was left of it.
Despite the Decree of the Governor, the surrounding area still being neglected, as if the majority welcomed the issuance of the Decree. It is not doing to protect and preserve the legacy of the colonial Dutch.

Now, many remaining historical buildings and architecture are deteriorating constantly; at best, "abandoned". as; Museum of history of Jakarta (former Town Hall of Batavia, the Office and residence of the Governor of general VOC), Maritime Museum of Indonesia, main port of Sunda and Omni Batavia hotel.

However, there is still much hope in the restoration of the area, especially with various organizations non-profit, private institutions and the Government recently intensified the plate to rejuvenate the legacy of the ancients in Jakarta. Since the end of 2007, the Government closed several streets Fatahillah envelope squares as Pintu Besar Street and street Pos Kota and replace it as a pedestrian.