Central Museum

Central Museum

Introduction: The museum is located on Jalan Merdeka Barat (West Independence Street), west of Merdeka Square in the city center. It was built in 1868 and is the largest and most comprehensive museum in Indonesia. The museum is a white, European-style building. In front of the museum, on a stone pedestal in the lawn, stands a bronze elephant statue, a gift from King Rama V of Siam during his visit in 1871, which is why the museum is also known as the "Elephant Museum" or "House of the Elephant." The museum houses various exhibition rooms including those for gold and silver ornaments, bronzes, currency, antiquities, prehistoric artifacts, wooden artifacts, ethnographic displays, and exhibits related to the Dutch East India Company. Among the collections are a 300,000-year-old Java Man skull fossil, bronze tripods and cauldrons from China’s Bronze Age dating back three to four thousand years, ancient Chinese ceramics and coins, a Javanese elephant-headed bodhisattva statue, unique house models from Sumatra, as well as props for shadow puppetry and puppet theater. Transportation: Address: Jl. Merdeka Barat 12, Central Jakarta, Jakarta. Getting there: By car from Blok M to Kota, or by car from Pulogadung to Monas. The museum is situated on Jalan Merdeka Barat, where parking is available. Ticket/Opening Hours: Adults: 750 IDR, children under 17: 250 IDR. Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday 8:30–14:30, Friday 8:30–11:00, Saturday 8:30–13:30. Closed on Mondays and public holidays.

Indonesia, Jakarta