page_title: History of Jakarta
section_title: Monumental projects
hierarchical_section_title: History of Jakarta / Sukarno's nationalistic projects (1960-1965) / Monumental projects
caption_attribution_description: English: Construction of the National Monument (Monas), Jakarta as of 17 August 1963 Bahasa Indonesia: Pembetonan badan tugu Monumen Nasional selesai tanggal 17 Augustus 1963 setinggi kurang lebih 105.00 meter
context_page_description: Jakarta is Indonesia's capital and largest city. Located on an estuary of the Ciliwung River, on the northwestern part of Java, the area has long sustained human settlement. Historical evidence from Jakarta dates back to the 4th century CE, when it was a Hindu settlement and port. The city has been sequentially claimed by the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanegara, the Hindu Kingdom of Sunda, the Muslim Sultanate of Banten, and by Dutch, Japanese and Indonesian administrations. The Dutch East Indies built up the area before it was taken during World War II by the Empire of Japan and finally became independent as part of Indonesia.
  Jakarta has been known by several names. It was called Sunda Kelapa during the Kingdom of Sunda period and Jayakarta, Djajakarta or Jacatra during the short period of the Banten Sultanate. Thereafter, Jakarta evolved in three stages. The "old city", close to the sea in the north, developed between 1619 and 1799 during the era of the VOC. The "new city" to the south evolved between 1809 and 1942 after the Dutch government took over control of Batavia from the failed VOC whose charter expired in 1799.
context_section_description: Dramatic changes in Jakarta's skyline occurred during the period between 1960-1965 when President Sukarno, also an architect and an urban planner, personally drove the city into a modern capital that would not only be the pride of the Indonesian nation, but would also be a "beacon" of a powerful new nation. The short period would give Jakarta many of its most famous modernist landmarks and monuments.
  Sukarno had already transitioned the country to "Guided Democracy" between 1957 and 1959, which greatly increased his own political power. Sukarno's great power allowed him to award the 1962 Asian Games to Indonesia, with Jakarta as the host city. The event was used as a trigger to complete new landmarks in Jakarta, and so the first half of the 1960s saw large government-funded projects that were undertaken with openly nationalistic architecture. By working on the optimistic monumental projects, Sukarno hoped to put the newly independent nation's pride on international display.
  Sukarno filled Jakarta with numbers of monuments. Numbers of monumental projects were conceived, planned and initiated during his administration. Some of the notable monumental projects of Sukarno during the first half of the 1960s were: Semanggi "clover-leaf" highway interchange, a broad avenue in Central Jakarta (Jalan M.H. Thamrin and Jalan Jenderal Sudirman), and Jalan Gatot Subroto; a broad by-pass connecting Tanjung Priok harbour with Halim Airport (Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani); four high-rise hotels, including Hotel Indonesia; a new parliament building; a stadium; Sarinah Department Store; the development of Ancol on the north coast of Jakarta to become Jakarta's main recreation complex; the largest mosque in Southeast Asia; and the widening of Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman ahead of the 1962 Asian Games.
  Most of Jakarta's monuments were initiated during the first half of the 1960s e.g. the National Monument, Selamat Datang Monument, Pemuda Monument at Senayan, Irian Jaya Liberation Monument at Lapangan Banteng, and the Dirgantara Monument at Pancoran.
  During the first half of the 1960s, government projects in Jakarta was so intense to the extent that Jakarta's citizens struggled to find cement and building materials for their own use.
caption: One of the most monumental projects launched by Sukarno was the demolition of government buildings in Merdeka Square to make way for the National Monument.
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