History of Taman Lapangan Banteng in Central Jakarta.
Photo source: Indovoice (Web)
As you can easily find, there are a lot of green spaces in Jakarta like Lapangan Banteng which becomes a new favorite place to go. Revitalization in 2018 make Lapangan Banteng looks more Instagrammable than before. It is not surprising if you find a lot of Jakartans spend their free time here, either on weekdays or weekends to exercise, picnicking, taking selfies, or seeing dancing fountains.
Before being known as one of the Instagrammable spots in Jakarta, Lapangan Banteng used to be called Waterlooein. It was a forest and home for wild animals including bulls. At that time, soldiers who are on their vacation came here to hunt.
Once upon a time, Anthony Paviljoen, a landlord, and tycoon cut down this forest and made them into his property (land). After being cut, the name of Lapangan Banteng changed to Paviljoensveld (Paviljoen Square) based on the name of its owner.
Lapangan Banteng faced moving ownership several times, from Paviljoen to Cornelis Chastelein, Justimus Vinck, and leased to Chinese people who used it as a field for sugar can and livestock (cattle and buffalo).
Photo by Rizki Oceano on Unsplash
During the Daendels era, Lapangan Banteng was used as a military training ground. There was a lion statue leading to Daendels palace (now Ministry of Finance Building). However, during the occupancy of Japan, the lion statue which looked like a poodle was destroyed. Then, after the independence day of Indonesia, the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno placed Tugu Pembebasan Irian Barat (Liberation Monument of West Irian).
In the 70s, Lapangan Banteng was once used as a bus station to accommodate people to Cililitan, Blok M, and Priok. 15 years later, the station was closed and returned to a park, again.
Nowadays, Lapangan Banteng becomes one of the Instagrammable spots in Jakarta you should not miss to make your feeds look more attractive. Whether you come in the morning, mid even at night, every corner of Lapangan Banteng looks perfect as your background. Along with great architecture, the cleanliness of Lapangan Banteng is top-notch. So, there is no reason to litter around here!