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Vredeburg Fort: A Silent Witness of History at 0 Kilometers of Yogyakarta

Tampak Depan Museum

Vredeburg Fort stands near the Yogyakarta Sultanate Palace, more precisely in Malioboro. The location of the fort which is located near the palace had its own purpose when this building was erected. After the Yogyakarta Sultanate Palace was first built on October 9, 1755, the progress of the palace grew rapidly. The palace continued its development by building the Gedhe Market, mosque, square and other buildings. The progress of the palace made the Dutch worried that in the end the Dutch proposed to the Sultan to build a fort.


The Dutch asked the Sultan for permission to build a fort near the palace on the pretext that the Dutch could maintain the security of the palace and its surroundings. After obtaining permission, they built a fort facing the main road leading to the palace and only one cannon shot from the palace. In fact, the Vredeburg fort which was built close to the palace was intended to make it easier for the Dutch to control all developments that occurred in the palace. This fort was used as a place for strategy, blockade, intimidation, and attacks. In other words, the Vredeburg fortress was built to guard against the Sultan turning against the Dutch.

Vredeburg dulu dan sekarang

In 1760, Fort Vredeburg was first built on the orders of Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I and led by Nicholaas Harting, the Dutch who became Governor Director of the North Coast of Java. The building of the fort at that time was still very simple with walls made only of earth, supported by pillars made of coconut and palm tree wood, and roofs using only thatch. Vredeburg fort is a square with 4 corners built seleka or bastions. Then, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IV gave the four corners a name, respectively Jaya Wisesa (northwest corner), Jaya Purusa (northeast corner), Jaya Prakosaningprang (southwest corner), and Jaya Prayitna (southeast corner).


In 1767, the fort building was made more permanent. This development occurred because of the proposal of the governor of the Netherlands, W.H. Van Ossenberg, who wanted the fort to be built more permanently so that security would be guaranteed. The construction of the fort was then carried out under the supervision of Ir. Frans Haak, an architect from the Netherlands and completed in 1787. Then the fort was named "Rustenburg" which means a resting fortress. When there was a great earthquake in Yogyakarta in 1867, the Rustenburg fort collapsed. After being rebuilt, the name Rustenburg was changed to Vredeburg which means fortress of peace. The name of this fort became a symbolic form of peace between the Palace and the Dutch.

Denah Museum Benteng Vredeburg

Since it was first built in 1760, Vredeburg Fort has experienced several changes in the ownership status and function of the fort. From the Palace, switch to the Netherlands and vice versa. Likewise, when Indonesia was controlled by the British, the Vredeburg fortress was de facto controlled by the British government under the leadership of General Raffles in 1811-1816 to be precise. When the Japanese invaders took over Indonesia, they also controlled Vredeburg and used it as a gunpowder warehouse, Japanese police headquarters and detention center. Vredeburg always functioned as a fort until 1980. Then, on August 9, 1980, an agreement was made regarding the utilization of the former Vredeburg fort between Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and the Minister of Education and Culture, DR. David Yusuf. This is corroborated by a statement from the Minister of Education and Culture, Prof. Dr. Nugroho Notosusanto, on 5 November 1984 that the former Vredeburg fort would function as a museum. In 1985, Sri Sultan HB IX allowed changes to the building according to his needs, and in 1987, the Vredeburg Fort Museum was opened to the public. Regarding the status of the land in this period it still belonged to the Palace.


From 1992 to the present, based on the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Fuad Hassan No. 0475/0/1992 dated November 23, 1992, officially the Vredeburg Fortress Museum became the Special National Struggle Museum under the name Fort Vredeburg Museum Yogyakarta which occupies a land area of 46,574 square meters. Then on September 5, 1997, in order to increase the functionalization of the museum, the Fort Vredeburg Yogyakarta Museum was delegated to manage the Yogyakarta Perjuangan museum in Brontokusuman Yogyakarta based on the Decree of the Minister of Culture and Tourism Number: KM. 48/OT. 001/MKP/2003 dated 5 December 2003.

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