With the growth of the city, the Dutch expanded Batavia further south to present-day Merdeka Square – then called Koningsplein around which today stand the Merdeka Palace,the Supreme Court of Justice,the National Museum and many important government offices including the office of the Governor of Jakarta as well as the American Embassy.

In the center of the Merdeka Square, now stands the National Monument, an obelisk-shaped needle on a large platform, dedicated to the historic Struggle for Independence of the Indonesian people. Below is the museum of the History of Indonesia’s Independence.

The actual site where the historic Proclamation of Independence took place on the 17th August 1945 is on Jalan Proklamasi in the Menteng area. Here stands a statue of the Declarators of Independence, Soekarno and Hatta. On this site once stood the residence of Soekarno, Indonesia’s first President, but which has been razed and now stands a five storeyed building once dedicated to the Grand Development Design of the Republic of Indonesia.