RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Today, international tourists can enjoy a collection of thousands of traditional Indonesian puppets (wayang), in a building that was once a Dutch colonial church. Now, the historic building so-called Wayang Museum, offers a unique blend of European architecture and the arts and culture of the Indonesian archipelago.

Based on the Jakarta Cultural Affairs Agency’s website, the building, located in Jakarta’s Old Town, was originally established in 1640. When first built by the VOC, the place of worship was named De Oude Hollandsche Kerk.

After standing for nearly a century, the church building was renovated in 1733. Its name was later changed to “De Nieuwe Hollandsche Kerk” by the colonial government at the time.

However, a massive earthquake destroyed the entire structure of the place of worship. On the site of the former ruins, a new building was established in 1912.

Before becoming a museum, the new building served as a warehouse for the company Geo Wehry & Co. The colonial government finally designated this historic building as a monument on August 14, 1936.

The building was later purchased by the Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen for art research. Ownership of the building continued to change hands until it was finally transferred to the Jakarta Provincial Government.

On August 13, 1975, Governor Ali Sadikin officially inaugurated this site as the Wayang Museum. To this day, the museum is managed by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Department of Culture.

According to the Indonesia Virtual Tour website, the museum now houses more than 4,000 wayang and puppet collections from various countries. Visitors can see wayang kulit, wayang golek, masks, and traditional gamelan instruments inside.

In addition to local collections, the museum also features puppets from Europe and several Asian countries. To delight visitors, the management holds wayang performances periodically every month.