'Back to the Future' in Surabaya Heritage Memory

As in the Michael J. Fox film Back to the Future, a number of young people on the Surabaya Heritage Memory tour recently took an unforgettable journey through space and time.

The 50 young people were given an opportunity to explore the history of Surabaya municipality.

"It is here that one of the leaders of the Dutch troops, Gen. Mallaby, was killed in the battle that raged in November 1945. These old buildings are the silent witnesses to the event," said Amanda, when she and her entourage arrived at one monument.

Surabaya Heritage Memory is held annually by the Tourism Department of Petra Christian University in Surabaya.

While tours of historic sites are not as popular with the general public as they could be, they offer participants the chance to see the old buildings of the Heroes City.

Tour organizer Agoestinus Lis Indrianto said it was rare for outings like the memory tour to be so well attended.

Offering an example, he said, most tours of heritage sites in Jakarta were bus tours not walking tours and attracted only a handful of people.

Historically, Surabaya, the second-largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, used to be a mass of land separated from Java island. The silting process that took place in the 11th century constantly broadened this land mass by 15 meters a year so that eventually it merged with Java island.

Owing to its strategic location, this area became a trading center under the name of Ujung Galuh. When Raden Wijaya was the ruler of Majapahit Kingdom, Ujung Galuh got a new name: Churabaya, meaning the courage to resist danger. The Trowulan stone plaque made in the 13th century tells us that it was in Churabaya that Raden Wijaya was involved in a fierce battle against the Tartar troops.

Churabaya continued to develop and later became Surabaya. Again, its strategic location in the coastal area of the Java Sea attracted spice traders from various countries to come to this city.

During the Dutch colonial era, Surabaya was one of the most important cities that they had to control and therefore it was developed to cater for trading interests.

Tanjung Perak harbor, which meets Kali Mas -- a river that also flows to several other towns in East Java -- facilitated spice trading.

"The historical traces of hundreds of years of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia are what we are most interested in," said Agoestinus, adding that Jembatan Petekan (Petekan Bridge) is one of the historic sites that tourists first visit.

This bridge, located in Tanjung Perak (formerly Kalimas) harbor area, automatically opens and closes when a vessel passes. "Petekan" is derived from the Javanese dipetek (pressed), a word referring to an action made before the bridge opens and closes by itself.

Old buildings with European architectural designs are the focus of the tour. During Dutch colonial times, the agrarian law allowed the private sector to have estate land on a lease basis and put up buildings as their administrative center for a period of 75 years. The PT Perkebunan XI building is one example of such an arrangement. It is still in good condition today.

The gray empire-style pillars of the building give it an air of elegance. The domination of the golden yellow and light brown colors in the interior of the two-story building, which was designed by architects Hulswit, Cuypers and Fermot, make it look particularly imposing.

It has "dormer" windows. "Reportedly all the materials for the interior of the building were imported directly from Belgium," said Agoestinus.

The teakwood furniture was crafted using a combination of Javanese and European designs and sets off nicely a glass mosaic depicting the arrival of the Dutch in Banten. There are also indoor murals titled Labor and The Fruits of Labor, both illustrating Javanese plantation workers.

Of no less interest is another old building now used as the office of Telkom Divre V Surabaya. Built in 1915, it may be regarded as Surabaya's first modern building.

In addition, there are dozens of other heritage sites such as the Nuts-Spaarbank building, which was once the office of Nederlands Spaarbank (now Bank of Indonesia) in 1914; The House of Sampoerna, an old building now reconstructed into a cigarette factory and a tobacco warehouse owned by Sampoerna cigarette-manufacturer; the Majapahit Hotel and the Grahadi State Building.

Chinese tourist Yan Ying said she was really impressed by the tour.

"This is my first trip to Surabaya and I've found much here of interest."

Christy Widyawati, 18, gave a similar response, "I can only say one word 'great!'."

"In fact, all Surabaya residents should be familiar with the history of their city," said Amanda. "But how much longer can this city maintain its old buildings?"

As the years go by, these old buildings may crumble and their histories be forgotten while shopping centers are built all around them.

"At least, this tour stirs awareness among youngsters about the significance of preserving heritage sites," Agoestinus said.