National Museum of Indonesia

One of the attractions of Jakarta is the National Museum of Indonesia, opened in 1868. It was built in the Baroque style during Dutch colonization. In the courtyard, in front of the main entrance, there is a large bronze statue of an elephant, presented by the King of Thailand. Therefore, the second name of the museum is popular among Indonesians - the Elephant Building.

In the spacious exhibition halls of the museum there are more than 140 thousand exhibits. They are grouped according to a specific theme into seven collections, including prehistoric exposition, archaeology, ceramics, numismatics, history, geography, ethnography and heraldry. In the central hall of the National Museum is the richest collection of Indo-Buddhist art of ancient Indonesia. The Buddha statue, about four meters high, is the largest exhibit of the museum. On the second floor of the building there is an exhibition of ancient precious relics of the archaeological collection. The rich ethnographic exposition includes a wide range of objects used in rites and rituals.

The National Museum of Indonesia plays an important role in preserving the country’s cultural and historical heritage.