Lapangan Banteng - Jakarta

Lapangan Banteng is located close to Istiqlal Grand Mosque and Jakarta Cathedral. It is a historic landmark that has been around since Dutch colonial rule. Back then, it had two names: Lapangan Singa (Lion Square) and Waterlooplein, which symbolized the victory over Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in 1815. After Indonesia’s independence, the square was renamed Lapangan Banteng before the government built the Irian Jaya Liberation Statue, which was inaugurated on Aug. 18, 1963, by then-president Sukarno, the same year that Irian Jaya became an integral part of the Republic of Indonesia.