Lawang Sewu Semarang – Location, Attractions and Entrance Tickets
Lawang Sewu Semarang – Capital of Central Java Province – Semarang is not only a metropolitan city but can also be an exciting alternative holiday destination. There are lots of interesting tourist attractions in this city nicknamed the city of Atlas. One of them is Lawang Sewu Semarang, which is certainly familiar to the Indonesian people because it is one of its tourist icons.
Brief Information on Lawang Sewu Semarang
Lawang Sewu is an old historic building that was built in 1904 during the Dutch rule in Indonesia and functions as the head office of the Nederlandsch Indishe Spoorweg Naatschappij (NIS). NIS is a Dutch railroad (tram) company. The location itself is not far from Tugu Muda Semarang, precisely on the east side of this monument.
During the Japanese colonial period in the 1940s, this building fell into the hands of the Japanese government and was converted into the Japanese Transportation Department (Ryuku Sokyoku). Not only that, the basement of the Lawang Sewu building became a prison as well as a place of torture for Japanese prisoners. Therefore, based on local residents and visitors, the mystical aura in the Lawang Sewu area is very strong, especially in the afternoon.
The Attraction of Lawang Sewu Semarang
After being neglected for a long time, the restoration or renovation of the Lawang Sewu Semarang building which took quite a long time was finally completed at the end of June 2011, during the reign of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). On July 5 2011, the building which is now designated as a railway museum was opened to the general public after being inaugurated by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.
This building with magnificent and sturdy Dutch architecture actually doesn’t really have a thousand doors as it is called (Lawang Sewu = Thousand Doors). It’s just that from the outside it looks like this building has lots of doors, so people call it that. This is the attraction of this building that is often used for pre-wedding photos.
The attraction of the Lawang Sewu tourist attraction, apart from its majestic and aesthetic architecture, is that there are historical dioramas there and there are glass mosaics that are towering and look beautiful.
The route to Lawang Sewu Semarang
Many people choose an open trip to Semarang because Lawang Sewu is usually included in their tour package. But don’t worry, you can still travel using public transportation such as buses, trains, and online motorcycle taxis. Because it is still in the heart of the city, precisely on Jalan Pemuda, Semarang, the Lawang Sewu museum is not difficult to reach both by public and private transportation.
If you are using the train mode of transportation, get off at Semarang Station or Poncol Station. Then from the station, you can directly order taxi/ojek transportation online or you can also walk a short distance to the nearest Trans Semarang stop. Likewise, if you take the AKAP / AKDP bus, you have to get off at Banyumanik Terminal then continue the journey using online transportation or the Trans Semarang bus.
Opening hours and entrance tickets to Lawang Sewu Semarang
From trusted sources, the Lawang Sewu Semarang tourist attraction which is now managed by PT. The Indonesian Railway (KAI) is open from 7 am to 9 pm. The entrance ticket price is also relatively cheap, for adults it will cost IDR 10,000, children and students IDR 5,000 and foreign tourists IDR 30,000.
