Local people call it Lawang Sewu (Thousand Door). This is because the building has a door that very much. In fact, the doors are not up to a thousand. This building has many windows height and width, so that people often regard it as a door.
Ancient
buildings and magnificent two-story after independence was used as the
office of the Railway Department of the Indonesian republic (DKARI) or
now PT Kereta Api Indonesia. In
addition once used as the Office of Infrastructure Agency Regional
Military Command (Kodam IV / Diponegoro) Regional Office (Regional
Office) Ministry of Transportation Central Java. During
the struggle of this building has its own historical record of events
during a five-day battle in Hyderabad (October 14 to October 19 1945). This
old building became the location of a great battle between youth AMKA
or the Young Railway against Kempeitai and Kidobutai, Japan. Therefore the City of Semarang by Decree No. mayor. 650/50/1992, enter Lawang Sewu as one of 102 ancient or historic buildings in the city of Semarang that should be protected.
Today
the old building has undergone a revitalization stage conservasi and
conducted by the Conservation Unit objects and historic buildings
Persero PT Kereta Api History
Building Lawang Sewu Sewu Lawang is one of the historic buildings built
by the Dutch colonial administration, on February 27, 1904. Initially
the building was set to be used as Het Indische Hoofdkantoor van de
Nederlansch Spoorweg Maatscappij (NIS) or the Office of Private Railway
company NIS. Previous office administration activities performed at the Station Samarang NIS NIS. But
the growth of railway network is fast enough, by itself require the
addition of technical personnel and administrative section is not small
by increasing the activity of office. One result of the manager's office at the station Samarang NIS becomes no longer adequate. NIS also rented several buildings owned by an individual as a temporary solution. However, it is deemed inefficient. Not
to mention the presence of NIS Samarang Station locations are located
in the swamp until the matter of sanitation and health becomes an
important consideration. Then it was decided to build administrative offices in new locations. The choice fell to the land at that time located on the edge of town adjacent to the residence of the Resident. Located
at the end Bodjongweg Semarang (now Jalan Pemuda), at the corner of the
meeting and Samarang naar Bodjongweg Kendalweg (highway towards
Kendal). Entrusting the design of the NIS building NIS headquarters in Semarang to Prof.. Jacob F. Klinkhamer (TH Delft) and B.J. Ouendag, an architect who lives in Amsterdam. The entire design process carried out in Holland and then images were taken to the city of Semarang. Looking at the blueprint of Lawang Sewu writing that the site plan and building plan has been drawn in Amsterdam in 1903. Similarly, the completeness of his images are made and signed in Amsterdam in 1903.
