Merdeka Square ( Indonesian : Medan Merdeka or Lapangan Merdeka , formerly Dutch : Koningsplein , lit. "King's Square") is a large square located in the center of Jakarta , Indonesia . Merdeka is the Indonesian word for freedom or independence . Measuring approximately one square kilometer in area, if the surrounding fields within the Merdeka Square are included, it is considered one of the largest squares in the world . At 75 hectares, it is over five times the size of Tiananmen Square , and 12 times the size of Place de la Concorde .
36-432: Merdeka Square may refer to: Merdeka Square, Jakarta , Indonesia Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia Merdeka Square, Kota Kinabalu , Malaysia See also [ edit ] Freedom Square (disambiguation) Independence Square (disambiguation) Merdeka Palace , Jakarta, Indonesia Istiqlal Mosque (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
72-576: A riverine islet at the location of the northeastern foot of the Eiffel Tower , was, for the sake of symmetry and pleasing perspectives, attached to the shore. (The Isle of Swans discussed here should not be confused with the Isle of Swans that sits in the middle of the Seine downstream and around the next bend in the river, between the fifteenth and sixteenth arrondissements .) Jacques Charles and
108-513: A Kill , in which Bond (played for the last time by Roger Moore ) drove a Renault 11 taxi which he had hijacked at the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a mysterious assassin, later revealed to be May Day ( Grace Jones ). Champ de Mars contains both a basketball court and a football field. For the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics , a temporary stadium known as the Eiffel Tower Stadium ( French : Stade de la Tour Eiffel )
144-478: A city tour bus stop located in front of Balai Kota Jakarta. A line of DAMRI airport bus service connects Soekarno-Hatta International Airport with Gambir Station. The square is also accessible using taxi , three wheeled bajaj , and several lines of MetroMini and Kopaja minibusses. In the future, the Jakarta MRT is planned to operate Monas subway station on the western side of the square. The station
180-561: A large flat open area called Grenelle , which was reserved for market gardening . Citizens would claim small plots and exploit them by growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers for the local market. However, the plain of Grenelle was not an especially fertile place for farming. The construction, in 1765, of the École Militaire designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel , was the first step toward the Champ de Mars in its present form. Grounds for military drills were originally planned for an area south of
216-522: A larger central garden around the monument. The asphalt road was changed to French stone pavement and created a grand plaza around the monument. The Merdeka square consists of two zones: There are four parks in Merdeka Square according to the cardinal points: Merdeka square is the heart of Jakarta as well as the centre of Indonesia. Many important government and cultural buildings are located around this central park of Jakarta. The square
252-651: A monument to commemorate the struggle for independence. His ambition was to make the Monas the tallest building in Jakarta, higher than Borobudur and larger than the Eiffel Tower . A design competition was held in 1956, followed by a second competition in 1960, however the President was not satisfied by the design entries, and no winner was announced. Instead Sukarno — who had previously studied architecture — asked architects to refine sketches made by himself. The design of
288-597: A park with a musical fountain in western side, and a deer enclosure where deer roam among the shady trees in the southeast corner. The square is a popular destination for Jakartans for sports and recreation especially on weekends. It is surrounded by important government buildings such as the Merdeka Palace , the National Museum , the National Library , Jakarta City Hall , Istiqlal Mosque ,
324-451: A stadium and sports facilities on Koningsplein . The locals called the square Lapangan Gambir , after Uncaria gambir , a plant which grows around the field. The Lapangan Gambir became the location of Pasar Gambir , a Pasar Malam (night market) fair and festival to commemorate Queen Wilhelmina's birthday in 1906. Since 1921 Pasar Gambir was held annually, turning into the annual modern Jakarta Fair . The square's name remained
360-492: A walking distance to the square, providing KRL Commuterline access via its Bogor (Red) Line . The free Jakarta city tour double decker bus also pass through Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat and Jalan Merdeka Selatan lining western and southern edge of the square. With three city tour bus stops in Medan Merdeka Barat Avenue; in front of National Museum, on western and southwestern corner of the square, while
396-596: Is currently under construction. Champ de Mars The Champ de Mars ( French pronunciation: [ʃɑ̃ də mars] ; lit. ' Field of Mars ' ) is a large public greenspace in Paris , France , located in the seventh arrondissement , between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius ("Mars Field") in Rome , which
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#1732773006814432-524: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Merdeka Square, Jakarta At its center stands the National Monument, often called Monas ( Monumen Nasional ). The paved plaza surrounds the monument often host national events such as military and float parades , as well as civic demonstrations . Surrounding the Monument is now
468-555: Is easily accessible using public transportations. The TransJakarta rapid bus transit service has four shelters located by the square; they are K1.14 Monas shelter (corridor 1) in front of National Museum , K2.16 Gambir 1, K2.22 Balai Kota and K2.23 Gambir 2 (corridor 2). The Gambir Station located in the east side also provide access, although the station currently only serves intercity trains, with Argo -class executive trains connecting Jakarta to Surabaya , Cirebon , Bandung and Solo. The Juanda and Gondangdia stations are within
504-704: The Buffelsveld ("buffalo field") was renamed Champ de Mars after the field in Paris due to French influence and used as a military exercise field. In 1818, a few years after the formation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , the square's name was changed into Koningsplein ("King's square"). Around the same time the governor-general's residence was moved to a new palace, now known as Istana Merdeka . The colonial government built athletic tracks,
540-488: The Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949), the returning Dutch colonial forces managed to gain control over Jakarta (Batavia) and its vicinity, and renamed most of places to their colonial names; including Ikada field changed back to Koningsplein . In 1949 Sukarno changed the name of Koningsplein to Medan Merdeka ("Independence Square"). By this time, the square was already crowded by
576-586: The Robert brothers launched the world's first hydrogen-filled balloon from the Champ-de-Mars on 27 August 1783. This place witnessed the spectacle and pageantry of some of the best-remembered festivals of the French Revolution . On 14 July 1790 the first "Federation Day" celebration ( fête de la Fédération ), now known as Bastille Day , was held on the Champ de Mars, exactly one year after
612-559: The United Buddy Bears exhibit was held on the Champ de Mars, an international art exhibition with more than 140 two-meter-tall bears representing individual countries. They promote peace, love, tolerance and international understanding and are displayed across the planet. They stand at Champ de Mars in Paris, fronting the Eiffel Tower. Champ de Mars was used as a filming location in the 1985 James Bond film A View to
648-492: The Jakarta anniversary around 22 June and Indonesian independence commemoration around 17 August. Flag raising ceremonies are held at the north end during city-wide public anniversaries. Since 2016, all Independence Day national celebrations begin with the departure and arrival of replicas of both the national flag and the text of the Proclamation of Independence, in the monument and the square, en route to Merdeka Palace in
684-726: The Nation" was built atop an artificial mountain and surmounted by a tree of liberty . The festival is regarded as the most successful of its type in the Revolution. During the Hundred Days a restored Napoleon held the Champ de Mai ceremony, during which he swore to uphold the Charter of 1815 , at the Champ de Mars. The Champ de Mars was the site of Expositions Universelles in 1867 , 1878 , 1889 , 1900 , and 1937 . In 2012,
720-486: The National Monument in the center, the square itself is Jakartans' popular destination for family recreation and outdoor sports activities during weekend, such as family picnics, flying kites , calisthenics , football games, jogging and bicycling. The paved plaza surrounds the monument often host national events as well as civic demonstrations . Military and float parades usually took place during
756-547: The Supreme Court and various governmental ministries. During the colonial Dutch East Indies era the square was called Koningsplein (King's square). In the late 18th century when the Dutch East Indies government moved their center of administration about 4 kilometres southward, from coastal old Batavia (now Kota ) to Weltevreden (now Central Jakarta ), they built several important buildings including
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#1732773006814792-461: The existence of Gambir railway station , Police Department Head Office, Telephone Company Office, Ikada Stadium , a sport-hall, many parks, many football fields and tennis lawns. In 1954, President Sukarno launched the idea of erecting a "National Monument" at the center of Merdeka Square. Sukarno desired that the Indonesian people and the young independent nation had something to be proud of,
828-459: The late 1990s to the 2000s, and gave the Merdeka square its present look. The aim was to return the function of Merdeka Square as an open space and green area. All buildings were removed and the square was transformed back to greenery. Since the early 1990s the fairground and the amusement park in the southern park were demolished had been given the old park function once again. The road surrounding
864-439: The mid-1990s for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Indonesian Independence in 1995, and continued well to the 2000s. The renovation moved the roundabout street further from the monument as it was feared that the vibrations from the passing vehicles would shake and disturb the monument's foundation. However, it was later decided that vehicles should be prohibited to enter the square altogether. The further roundabout created
900-421: The monument is not accessible to motorized traffic. In 2002, after Megawati was elected president, the governor of Jakarta Sutiyoso built a high fence with gates and guards to enclose the entire square. While visitors can access the square without charge, beggars, vendors, homeless and other social groups were excluded. An army encampment has been set up within the compound to enforce the new rules. Other than
936-404: The monument was eventually resulted from the work of architect Soedarsono. Sukarno's layout for Merdeka Square was based on a plan initially developed in 1892 with diagonal streets radiating from the monument. The construction of National Monument ( Indonesian : Monumen Nasional or Monas ) was initiated in 1961, but it was only completed in 1976. Except the railway station, other buildings in
972-446: The morning, and returning to the square in the evening. The shape of Merdeka Square has been altered several times within its two-century history. The current design is mainly based on the site plan from the 1960s — as a part of the design of the National Monument that incorporated diagonal crossed streets that separated four cardinal parks. Recent development on the square is based on a master plan produced in 1993. Renovation began in
1008-432: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merdeka_Square&oldid=1009412154 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1044-837: The same throughout colonial Dutch East Indies era until the Japanese invasion in 1942. In 1942, during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies , the square was named Lapangan Ikada (acronym of Ikatan Atletik Djakarta or Jakarta Athletic Bond). The proclamation of Indonesian independence was originally intended to be staged at Lapangan Ikada. It was however moved to a house in Jalan Pegangsaan (now Jalan Proklamasi). On 19 September 1945, Sukarno held his Indonesian independence and anti-colonialism/imperialism speech, during Rapat Akbar or grand meeting. During
1080-406: The school, the current location of the place de Fontenoy . The choice to build an esplanade to the north of the school led to the erection of the noble facade which today encloses the Champ de Mars. The planners leveled the ground, surrounded it with a large ditch and a long avenue of elms, and, as a final touch, the esplanade was enclosed by a fine grille-work fence. The Isle of Swans , formerly
1116-418: The southwest corner of the south park was used as Taman Ria Jakarta or Jakarta amusement park , including many exhibition halls, restaurants and night-clubs. The design of the parks stayed relatively unchanged from the 1970s to mid 1990s, and this situation led to the preparation of a master plan for redeveloping the square, established in 1993. The 1993 master plan guided the ongoing renovation conducted in
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1152-434: The square into four parts: North, East, South, and West parks. Soon after construction works of the National Monument were completed, new buildings were grown at the southern part of the square. The north, east and west park remained a park, while the southern segment was developed into a building complex. In the 1970s to early 1990s, this southern section was occupied by the fairground for Jakarta Fair from 1968 to 1992, while
1188-476: The square — such as the Ikada Stadium and sports facilities — were demolished to make way for the construction of the monument, and replaced by four segments of garden. Today, the square is more popular with its nickname Lapangan Monas . The Merdeka Square is crossed by four diagonal streets which form an "X" with the National Monument at its center. The street is called Jalan Silang Monas and separates
1224-488: The square. Formerly, it was a large open field for herding kerbau ( water buffalo ), and therefore called Buffelsveld . There were two main squares in Weltevreden : Buffelsveld and Paradeplaats (Parade ground, later renamed Waterlooplein , now Lapangan Banteng ). The squares began to take shape during Daendels' rule in the early 19th century; Waterlooplein became the main parade and ceremonial square, while
1260-584: The storming of the prison. The following year, on 17 July 1791, the massacre on the Champ de Mars took place. Jean Sylvain Bailly , the first mayor of Paris, became a victim of his own revolution, and was guillotined there on 12 November 1793. The Champ de Mars was also the site of the Festival of the Supreme Being on 8 June 1794. With a design by the painter Jacques-Louis David , a massive "Altar of
1296-462: Was dedicated to the god Mars. The name alludes to the fact that the lawns here were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military. The nearest Métro stations are La Motte-Picquet–Grenelle , École Militaire , and Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel , an RER suburban-commuter-railway station. A disused station, Champ de Mars , is also nearby. Originally, the Champ de Mars was part of
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