********** Detailed History of Medan **********
Medan appeared from the mist of myth around 16th to 17th centuries, when two powers in northen Sumatra - Aceh and Deli - went to war. "Medan" is a Malay word for "battle field", the place where the fight between two contesting powers took place. It is also associated with "Medina", the Islamic city in Arabia where a peaceful and prosperous civil-society once was achieved under the reign of Prophet Muhammad.
The famous Sultan Iskandar Muda from Aceh defeated Aru kingdom in Deli Tua ("Old Deli" located southward of the present Medan) in 1612, established the Deli kingdom in 1632, and appointed Gocah Pahlawan as the first king.The second king, Marhum Kesawan was enthroned in 1669 and then moved the capital to the present location of Medan (the name "Kesawan" is originated from his name). The location of the capital of Deli kingdom was moved several times (to Pulo Brayan, then to Labuhan Deli) before finally settled down in the present location of Maimoon Palace in 1888 by the 9th ruler, Sultan Ma'mum Al Rasyid Perkasa Alamsyah. In 1861 some Fujianese from Southern China began to settle in Labuhan Deli, some 20 km north towards the sea. Labuhan was an important port town of the Sultanate of Deli, where the Syahbandar (Port Master) office was located at the middle of the town near the main landing place or harbor. In 1891 a temple dedicated for Guanyin, Shoushan-gong was erected by Fujianese in Labuhan Deli to commemorate 30 years anniversary of the founding of the settlement. Labuhan Deli is the capital of Deli kingdom from the 4th ruler (Tuanku Panglima Pasutan, ruled from 1728 to 1761) until the 9th ruler (Sultan Ma'mum Al Rashid Perkasa Alamsyah, ruled from 1873 to 1924) before it was moved to Medan. The location of the palace was near the present site of the Sultan Mosque in Labuhan Deli.
After the war in 1612 and during period of the Labuhan Deli as the capital city, the area was deserted and became a small village. Anderson, a British Government Officer visited the place in 1823 and he noted that only about 200 people lived in Medan. In 1865, a Dutch planter, Nienhuys went into the hinterland and opened a Dutch plantation center to grow tobacco. His estate was located in the eastern bank of Deli River at the north-western side of the present Esplanade. The plantation became the propelling element for the growth of a new settlement.
Chinese coolie began to be shipped to Sumatra in 1870 due to the rapid development of Colonial plantation activities, and many of them headed to Medan. The erection of temples in Medan area was the indication of rapid growth of Chinese population. In 1878 Zhenjun-miao was erected by Chaozhou people in Tanjung Mulia (between Titipapan & Labuhan) for their deity "the true man Wu". Around 1880s Guandi-miao was erected by Guangdong people the currently Jl. Irian Barat 2 location, followed by Guanyin-gong by Xinghua people in the present Jl. Yos Sudarso 46. Another temple, Guandi-gong was erected in the present Jl. Pertemburan 81 - near Pulo Brayan in 1890. These temples would be followed by the construction another temples in different locations in Medan area and beyond.
Few years after the establishment of tobacco plantation and factories, the city developed rapidly as a trading centre with a fast growing cosmpolitan population. Medan was declared as the capital of northern Sumatra in 1886. In the same year "Witte Societeit" ("a rather grand club") was erected next to the post office to cater the recreational need of the European community. Hotel De Boer was constructed in 1896, sign of rapid urban transformation process of Medan into a modern business city.
Tjong A Fie - a Hakka enterpreneur and one of the founding fathers of Medan - came from Canton in 1875 and made his fortune in the plantation industry together with his brother, Tjong Yong Hian. He built up good connection with the Sultan of Deli and the Dutch planters and was appointed as 'Majoor der Chineezen' or the Chinese community leader. He was a famous philanthropist which became one of the founders of the Colonial Institute (the present Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen or the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam). His house in Kesawan was completed in 1900, a hybrid Chinese - European - Art Deco court-yard house. The design of this house is very similar to his relative's mansion in Penang, a more famous tycoon Cheong Fatt Tze. He initiated the opening of the railroad to connect Medan with the port of Belawan which later became "Deli Spoorweg Maatschappij" (Deli Railroad Company). In 1913 Tjong A Fie donated the bell tower for the old City Hall building.
The City Hall itself was constructed in 1908, designed by Hulswit & Fermont Weltevreden + Ed Cuypers Amsterdam. It was followed by the construction of the Post Office in 1909-1911, designed by Snuyf, head of the.Public Works Department. In 1910 the Javasche Bank (designed by Hulswit & Fermont Weltevreden + Ed Cuypers Amsterdam) was erected. In 1930s many corporate offices were established in Medan, most of them were located in Kesawan area. In 1929 Office of Netherlands Trading Company (it was then the liquidated Bank Exim) was completed (the building was used by Gunseikanbu during the Japanese occupation). Kesawan became the "Wall Street" of Medan - and the city was developed into an important regional trading and tourism in Southeast Asia.
Medan was closely linked with Penang across the Melaka Strait, not just in trading activities but also in urban design and architecture as well. British planners and architects from the Straits Settlements were often hired by the Medan wealthy residents, or the Dutch architects and planners brought in ideas from across the strait. The central open urban space at the middle of the colonial city was called "Esplanade" like the one in Penang, and the shop-house facade style and building typology bore a resemblance to the shop-house in the Straits Settlements. Fusion of Dutch-British Tropical style and urban design elements can be found almost everywhere in the Colonial district of Medan. The specifically design node and corner buildings in along the main streets of Kesawan area, which combined at least 2, 3 or more formal articulations of the building blocks (set-back, obliqued, rounded, towered) to give unique identity to different urban nodes, are similar to the urban design characteristics in other Dutch modern cities such as Bandung, Semarang, or Malang.
Morphologically Medan's central area can be divided into three segments: the Colonial core district, the Chinese area, and the sprawling native settlements. The Colonial district consists of the most important buildings and infrastructures, including the business area in Kesawan, the military area between Deli River and Babura River, the upper-class residential area in Polonia "Tropical Garden City", Central market, churches, hospitals, schools, factories, train station, and airport. The high-density mixed-used Chinese area is located on the eastern side of Deli River, intersected with the Colonial area in Kesawan. The centre of native settlement is the Sultan's Palace and the Mosque at the southern end of the city next to Kesawan business district and the Chinese area. The palace was built in 1888 and the mosque in 1907 with Orientalistic-Imperialist architectural style, as a significant expression of the Dutch colonial cultural dominance and political control.
Entering the 20th century, Medan was a rapidly growing trading city. According to 1910 census the city's population was 17,500. By the end of Dutch rule in 1942, the population reached 80,000. The current population of Medan is around 2 million people, the fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung.
Historical Timeline:
1823 Anderson (British Government Officer) visited Medan. Population = 200.
1861 Fujianese began to settle in Labuhan Deli
1865 Nienhuys (Dutch) opened Dutch plantation center to grow tobacco.
1869 The opening of Suez Canal
1870 Chinese coolie began to be shipped to Sumatra.
1873-1924 The rule of Sultan Ma'mum Al Rashid Perkasa Alamsyah, "the Builder".
1878 Zhenjun-miao was erected by Chaozhou people in Tanjung Mulia (between Titipapan & Labuhan)
1880s Guandi-miao (Guandi, Caishen, Dabogong) was erected by Guangdong people in Medan (Jl. Irian Barat 2).
1880s Guanyin-gong (Shakyamuni, Guanyin, Dizang-wang) was erected by Xinghua people in Medan (Jl. Yos Sudarso 46).
1885 The first newspaper "Deli Courant" was published.
1886 Medan became the capital of northern Sumatra.
1886 "Witte Societeit" ("a rather grand club") was erected next to the post office.
1888 Sultan of Deli (Sultan Ma'mum Al Rashid Perkasa Alamsyah) moved from Labuhan Deli to Maimoon Palace in Medan.
1890 Guandi-gong (Guandi) was erected in Medan (Jl. Pertemburan 81 - near Pulo Brayan)
1891 Shoushan-gong (Guanyin) was erected by Fujianese in Labuhan Deli
1895 Zhenjun-miao was erected by Chaozhou people in Titipapan.
1898 Hotel De Boer was constructed.
1898-1939 Publication of "De Sumatra Post" by Joseph Hallermann, a German.
1900 Tjong A Fie mansion was built.
1906 Tianhou-gong (Mazu temple) was erected in Medan (Jl. Pandu Baru 2)
1907 Sultan Mosque was built.
1908 City Hall (Hulswit & Fermont Weltevreden + Ed Cuypers Amsterdam)
1909-1911 Construction of post office (Snuyf, architect - head of Ned.Ind.PWD)
1910 Medan was a small city. Population = 17,500.
1910 Javasche Bank (Hulswit & Fermont Weltevreden + Ed Cuypers Amsterdam)
1913 Tjong A Fie donated the city hall's clock tower.
1917 Horse drawn carts with brooms were used for town cleaning.
1923 Renovation of City Hall.
1923 Zhenlian-si (Guangze-zunwang, Yuhuang-dadi) was erected by Chaozhou people in Kedai Durian.
1924-1945 The rule of Sultan Amaluddin Al Sani Perkasa Alamsyah
1928 Motorized vehicles were used to replace the horse drawn cars for town cleaning.
1929 Office of Netherlands Trading Company (now Bank Exim) was completed (used by Gunseikanbu during the Japanese occupation).
1936 Guanyin-ting (Guanyin) was erected by Hakka women in Medan (Jl. Lahat 54)
1936 Baolian-tang (Guanyin) was erected by Chaozhou women in Medan (Jl. Sun Yat Sen)
1942 End of Dutch rule. Population = 80,000.
2000 Medan's population = 1,898,013
References:
-
Akihary, Huib, "Architectuur & Stedebouw in Indonesie 1870/1979", De Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 1988
- Buiskool, Dirk A., and Koudenburg, Tjeerd, "Tours Through Historical Medan and Its Surroundings", Medan, 1995
- Reid, Anthony (comp.), "Witnesses to Sumatra - A Travellers' Anthology", Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1995
- "Classical Photographs of Medan in the Old Days", Sumatra Heritage Trust, Medan, 2000
- Sinar, Tengku Lukman, "The History of Medan in the Olden Times", 6th edition, Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengembangan Seni Budaya Melayu, Medan, 1996
- Loderichs, M.A., "Medan - Beeld van een stad", Asia Maior, Purmerend, 1997
- Van Diessen, J.R. and Voskuil, R.P.G.A., "Stedenatlas Nederlands-Indie", Asia Maior, Purmerend, 1998, pp. 30-36.
- http://www.info-indo.com/sumatra/medanhistory.htm
- http://www.trijaya-travel.com/htm1/indxcP.htm
【Author: Johannes WIDODO】
