Van Den Bosch Castle

 Van Den Bosch Castle

Van Den Bosch fortress or castle is located in the path of Ngawi Pendem meeting Bengawan Solo and Madison, precisely in the Village pelem, District Ngawi, Ngawi regency, East Java.The existence of the fort was not much heard of, even almost forgotten. For decades this fortress should not be touched by the public as a regional military power. In fact, if examined, this castle is a historic building that should be protected and recognized by society.Pendem fort built by Governor-General Ngawi Defensieljn Van Den Bosch for about two centuries ago or in 1839, utilizing their flow Bengawan Solo and Madison. In addition to working for the defense zone, the construction of the fort was also to facilitate the flow of transport in the flow of two rivers.Trust, the merchants of Surakarta, Yogyakarta at a time if it should pass to the airport Ngawi in Surabaya, so did the merchants of the Pacitan, Madison, and Maospati. This is what classifies as a strategic Ngawi because it is a gathering of water trade routes passing Solo."The fort is also used to stifle the freedom fighters of transportation logistics troops Diponegoro. The same time, there was a war between the forces in Ngawi Regent Madison-Ngawi Diponegoro favor with the Dutch," said Battalion Commander of the Armed Ngawi 12, Lieutenant Colonel Arm Sugeng Riyadi.He explained, after Indonesia's independence, precisely since 1962, Fort Van Den Bosch made the headquarters of Armed Battalion 12 who previously domiciled in the District of Malang. At that time, military training activities and unity are also concentrated in the area of ​​the fort.Due to the condition that the building is not conducive to the development and advancement of unity, then about 10 years later Yon Armed occupy a new location at 12 Jalan Siliwangi, Ngawi City. However, some areas of the castle is still used for the armory."That's what underlies why for decades Pendem fort was closed to the public. At the end of 2011, the fort was finally open to the public because the Armory has been moved to Jalan Siliwangi. Until now we still do regular maintenance," said Sugeng Riyadi.He explains, building Fort Pendem Ngawi still very strong, despite age. Fortress Bangungan Pendem Ngawi consists of the main gate, hundreds of rooms for the soldiers, the lawn in the middle of the building, and several rooms that were once believed to be the stables.In addition, the building is surrounded by mounds of earth fort that had been built to withstand water overflow attacks and Solo. This makes building such as hidden fortress. The building is also surrounded by a moat of water as wide as 5 meters, only this time the ground has been covered trench.

Now, belatedly, the Armed Battalion 12 and the local government wants to Fort Van Den Bosch to historical attractions in the District of Ngawi. Armed Yon parties now continue to make improvements."Improving the care of the building is done on a regular basis. Right now we are waiting for permission to renovate the building of the Ministry of Defence and Security. If permission is already out, the renovation will be done without leaving the original form of the castle building," he explained.Since opening to the public, the public can see the building from the nearby fort. Only by paying the ticket levy of Rp 1,000 per person, the public can see the remains of Fort Pendem force in the Dutch colonial period.This historical tourist sites were also easy to reach by means of transportation because it is located in downtown Ngawi."Currently, we are only open to the public for people who want to see. Going forward, we have done the same with the regency kerjasa Ngawi to working fortress Pendem this into a single unit with a water tour along the Ngawi Trinil Museum Solo. Trial was conducted, "said Sugeng.According to him, Trinil Museum and Fort Pendem Ngawi have relevance. Before the fossils at Trinil in museums such as this, which is used to store the location of the fossil is Pendem Fortress.Besides, as a zone defense, the fort was once also used to stop the Dutch scientists. One of them is a discoverer Eugene Dubois' Trinil hominid "Pithecanthropus Erectus".Sugeng added that any future concept to be developed at Fort Pendem Ngawi, it hoped that this building was not neglected. Because Fort Pendem Ngawi has a very high historical value, equivalent to building the castle in Yogyakarta.