The Jakarta History Museum is housed in the old town hall of Batavia, a stately whitewashed Dutch colonial structure that was once the epicentre of an empire. This bell-towered building, built in 1627, served the administration of the city and was also used by the city law courts. Inside, it has a collection of artefacts and an impressive 10m painting depicting the attempted siege of Batavia by the Mataram forces in 1628.
In the courtyard at the rear of the building you can head down to its prison cells used during the 19th century to detain various notable Indonesian freedom fighters.
