Friday, January 1, 2010

Tugu Muda, the 'Forever Young' Monument

Tugu Muda or Youth Monument is a five-angle-longitudinal plane through the center. The monument consists of 2 parts; they are the base and the head. Relief was carved along the base. To make it more impressive, water reservoir and Greenery Park are put around the stone-made monument. Tugumuda is located in the hart of Semarang, the capital city of Central Java, surrounded by prominent buildings, such as Lawang Sewu (the Netherlands relic), Governor Official Residence, Manggala Bakti Museum and Catholic Cathedral.
The idea of founding this monument is to commemorate Five-Day-Battle happening in Semarang. October 28, 1945, Central Java Governor, Mr. Wongsonegoro launched the foundation stone in the target place which was next to the town square. However, Allied and Japanese Forces attacked in November 1945, the project was cancelled. In 1949, Indonesian Youth Corporation (Badan Koordinasi Pemuda Indonesia/ BKPI) seized the initiative to continue the project. Due to the fund problem, the idea was again unfinished. In 1951, Semarang Mayor, Hadi Soebeno Sosro Wedoyo formed Tugu Muda committee. This time, the target location to build the monument was where Tugu Muda is now located.

Salim was the one who designed the monument, and Hendro, an artist, was responsible for the relief. The material—the stone—was imported from Kaliurang, Yogyakarta and Paker. Boediono, the Central Java Governor launched the foundation stone in November 10, 1951. The official announcement was authenticated by the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno in May 20, 1953 when Indonesian people commemorated The Awakening Day. There have been some renovations done by the local government, such as park, water reservoir and fountain.

The local government made the monument more attractive by placing some fountains around the pond with more or less 5 meter height. That’s why, it looks so exotic that attract the people to drop by, especially those who are passing Semarang to take some pictures. Some months ago, from the writer’s notification, there were a lot of vehicles were parked around the monument that blocked the traffic. It made the police regulate the visitors’ parking.

Writer's note: Some information is taken from the following link

No comments:

Post a Comment