Explore Indonesian Historical Buildings with Mystical Story

Jakarta – As a country that was once colonized, Indonesia has several historical remains scattered throughout the country. There are some historical places related to the colonial period that are often linked with mystical things by some people.

In Indonesia, old buildings are often covered in horror stories so that just by mentioning the name, people can imagine how scary the place is. Well, here are some historical buildings that are known to have mystical stories inside them:

1. Lawang Sewu

Lawang Sewu is a historical place and icon of the city of Semarang, Central Java. Earlier, this place, which was founded in 1904, was the administrative office of the Indische Spoorweg Maatscappij (NIS), a private railway company from the Netherlands.

In addition, this place with charming architecture also functioned as a prison during the Japanese colonial period, specifically at the bottom.

Lawang Sewu became widely discussed after a television show held a courage test there.

It's known, that this prison room holds many mystical stories in various versions from people who claim to have experienced them there.

2. Vredeburg Fort

Fort Vredeburg is a tourist attraction located in Yogyakarta, precisely on Jalan Malioboro. This fort was founded by the Dutch in 1760 on the pretext of maintaining the security of the palace and its surroundings.

The purpose of building this fort was to control the palace, not to maintain security, this can be seen from the way the Dutch determined the point of construction. 

This fort, which was built by the Dutch, is located very close to the palace and is also within range of cannon fire.

Since 1992 until now, this centuries-old fort has been converted into a museum that stores several objects and documents from the Dutch colonial era.

This fort is famous for holding mystical stories in the form of the appearance of Dutch soldiers marching without heads.

3. Rotterdam Fort

Fort Rotterdam is a historical relic of the Gowa-Tallo Kingdom which is located west of Makassar City, South Sulawesi.

This fort was built in 1545 by the 10th King of Gowa named I Manrigau Daeng Bonto Karaeng Lakiung with the title Karaeng Tunipalangga Ulaweng.

In addition to having magnificent architecture, there is also a story here that tells that a long time ago there was a woman named Sumiati who hanged herself in this fort. Sumiati is frustrated because she is a victim of rape.

The perpetrator who raped Sumiati at that time happened to be wearing a red shirt. From the story, visitors are prohibited from wearing red clothes.

4. Vastenburg Fort

Vastenburg Fort is a legacy of Dutch colonialism located on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Gladak, Kedunglumbu Village, Pasar Kliwon District, Solo.

This fort, which was built in 1745, was built by the Dutch on the orders of Governor-General Baron Van Imhoff as a building to monitor the movements of the Surakarta Palace.

It's said that this old building has a mysterious story, for example, in the basement, visitors often hear screams for help and smell the fishy smell of blood whose source is unclear.

However, of the many disturbances from these supernatural creatures, there is the most famous figure in this building, namely the figure of a Dutch woman in a dress who often appears there.

5. Bandung Japanese Cave

Bandung Japanese Cave which is located on Ir. Forest Park. H. DJuanda, Dago, is a tourist location that is quite busy with visitors.