“LAWANG SEWU”

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Lawang Sewu is a magnificent art deco architecture which was used as the Head Office of the
Private Railway NISM (Nederlandschindische Spoorweg Maatschappij) which was built on an
area of 18,232 m2 located in Tugu Muda. Construction of the main building began in 1904 and
was completed in mid-1907. While other buildings around began to be built from 1916 to 1918.

The architecture of the building was designed by an

architect from Amsterdam, namely Prof. Jakob F.
Klinkhamer and BJ Ouendag. There a lot opof doors in
this huge building that local people call it Lawang Sewu.
In the Javanese language, Lawang Sewu means building
with thousand doors. All of those doors are deliberately
made so that air circulation in the building is maintained.
Besides, there is also a unique and magnificent corner,
stained-glass ornaments from the Johannes Lourens
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Schouten manufacture which has a story about the beauty
of Java and the glory of the railroad at that time.

Lot of people go to Semarang will definitely visit Lawang Sewu. This place is known as one
of the Semarang’s tourism icons. Several years ago, Lawang Sewu was known as a spooky and
haunted place so tourists tend to think the rooms in this place as a mystical place. The corner
that most attracts tourists is the basement which is said to be a place of torture and dungeons
during the colonial period.

However, thanks to the management of the government and PT KAI that made the face of
Lawang Sewu more majestic without reducing the historical value of every corner. now
Lawang Sewu is used as a historical tourist spot and a charming photo spot. moreover, The
building is used as a museum to present a collection of railway history in Indonesia.

Some of the collections include Alkmaar, Edmonson machines, typewriters, steam locomotive
replicas, calculating machines, and securities. Visitors can also see various collections of
photos during the restoration and the restoration materials used. There is also a library
containing books about trains and their history in Indonesia.

Now besides being used as a tourist spot and museum, Lawang Sewu is also often used as a
place for exhibitions, meeting rooms, weddings, bazaars, and festivals.