Surabaya, my hometown, has many heritage buildings. One of them is Hotel Majapahit MGallery Surabaya, a 5-star hotel. If you stay here, you will enjoy Surabaya from the heart of the city. Because it is located at Jl. Tunjungan no 65 nears the biggest mall in Surabaya, Tunjungan Plaza.

Couple years ago, I often came to this 5-starred hotel for writing some articles. I always amazed whenever I entered the lobby door. It felt like I came into time machine and went to ancient time. The Dutch building with white pillars and wall, wide and green garden, and the fountain. At some spot you can see black and white antiques photos in their walls which was strengthen historic vibe.

This hotel was established at 1910 by Sarkies Family which also designed Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Furthermore, this hotel had already witness history of Indonesia from Dutch and Japan invasion, Independence era, until now.

Sarkies named Oranje Hotel. “Oranje” means orange in Dutch based on the color of the wall. However, there was no strong evidence because the photo at that time only black and white.

During World War Two, when Japan invaded Indonesia and ousted the Dutch, Surabaya was the country’s capital. Japanese changed the hotel’s name to Hotel Yamato, to symbolize that Dutch were no longer the rulers of Indonesia.

After the declaration of Independence, President Soekarno ordered to fly Indonesian flag, Red and White, in the whole nation. In September 1945, Dutch raised the Dutch flag (Red-White-Blue) on top of the hotel, hence denying Indonesia’s newly-declared independence.

In an effort to settle the issue diplomatically, Surabaya’s Vice Resident Soedirman, a prominent soldier of the republic and a politician, arrived at the hotel with a delegation to ask that the Dutch flag should be removed from all buildings in Surabaya, including the hotel. The Dutch leader, Ploegman, would not comply and drew a gun, and a struggle ensued.

During the fight, Ploegman was killed along with a member of the Indonesian delegation called Sidik. The Indonesians were further enraged after hearing this news and immediately attacked the Dutch military in the hotel.

In the end, the Indonesians defeated the Dutch. They teared the blue part of the Dutch flag to leave the Red and White parts as represent of Indonesian flag. The teared flag then was raised on the roof of the hotel. Following this incident, known as “The Yamato Incident”, the hotel was renamed Hotel Merdeka, it means ‘Freedom Hotel’ in English.

After that, some names were given to this hotel according who managed. From Lucas Martin Sarkies Hotel (LMS) when Sarkies took over again, Hotel Majapahit by Mantrust HoldingCo., Mandarin Oriental Hotel Majapahit Surabaya by Mandarin Oriental Group, Hotel Majapahit by PT Sekman Wisata. Finally, at 2017 Accord took over and changed the name into Hotel Majapahit MGallery Surabaya until now.

If you like comfortable, art deco, and historic building, you would never miss to stay at Hotel Majapahit. While staying, you can take a journey and ‘see’ Surabaya during past time.

photo source: google