Blenduk Church in Semarang, 1820

Image: Cornelis Frederik Stavenisse de Brauw/Atlas van Stolk

One of the basic human needs besides food is the need to have a belief or religion. Therefore, it is not surprising that one of the earliest buildings built in a city was a house of worship. Likewise, when the VOC built Semarang, one of the earliest buildings built was a church.

The picture above is a painting of the Blenduk Church which was painted by Cornelis Frederik Stavenisse de Brauw in 1820. This church was built in 1753 by a Dutch community living in Semarang. It is called the Blenduk Church because of its dome-shaped roof, or mblendhuk in Javanese. The main building of this church was built in an octagonal shape.

This Blenduk Church is the oldest church in Central Java and is still functioning today. You can visit it in the Old Town area of ​​​​Semarang with an entrance ticket of IDR 10,000. The Old Town area of ​​Semarang was the center of the city of Semarang which was built by the Dutch, so many colonial buildings are still preserved in this area.