RESTORATION OF THE FORT VAN DEN BOSCH, NGAWI

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Fort Van den Bosch or Fort Pendem as the local name is founded in 1839 in Ngawi, a small town on the border of Central Java and East Java, along the river Bengawan Solo.

Efforts to restore and re-use the Fort was initiated and fully funded by the Indonesian government under the responsibility of the Ministry of PUPR (Public Works and Human Settlements) in coordination with the military authorities as the owner of the Fort and the Ngawi local government.

The restoration process of the Fort van den Bosch started in 2020 and will be ready in early 2023. Hopefully, new functions such as hotels, museums, and offices will take place soon here.

Last October I visited the Fort van den Bosch and talked to Wawan Sudarmawan, Dimas Candra, and Bayu Arga who are responsible for the construction and engineering management.  They said that they have learned a lot but also found many unanswered puzzles during the restoration process. Contacts with fort experts in the Netherlands should be helpful for them.

In order to connect the history of Johannes van den Bosch in Indonesia and the Netherlands,  in September 2021, Indonesia Diaspora Nederland has organized a webinar with the speaker Nadia Purwestri from Pusat Dokumentasi Arsitektur (Indonesian Center for Architecture Documentation) who is in charge as the researcher of the restoration of the Fort van den Bosch.

It is special that both sides take the initiatives to value the same historical figure without knowing each other. Probably one day both sides will find a way to connect to pass on the history to the next generation.

















 

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