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Old photos of Jakarta

65 photographs of Jakarta, from 1850 to 2025 — each pinned to the exact place it was taken.

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What the photos show

The 65 photographs of Jakarta on PlaceWas span 12 decades, from 1850 to 2025. 23 of them were taken before 1980; the other 42 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.9 spots were photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.65 of the photos carry a written caption explaining what is in the frame. Every picture is pinned to the place it was taken, so the map below shows where the photographers stood.

Pick a decade to filter the photos below and the map above. Open full map ↗

Places in Jakarta through time

Spots photographed more than once — compare the same place across the years.

Cafe Batavia, Jakarta — photos through time
Cafe Batavia 18 photos · 1860–2025
EU: Nederlandse gebouwen in Batavia (1900), Jakarta — photos through time
EU: Nederlandse gebouwen in Batavia (1900) 11 photos · 1850–1913
Museum Fatahillah, Jakarta — photos through time
Museum Fatahillah 5 photos · 1971–2012
Kali Besar Timur (2025), Jakarta — photos through time
Kali Besar Timur (2025) 3 photos · 1943–2025
Escompto Bank Batavia First Building (built 1904) Kota Tua (2025), Jakarta — photos through time
Escompto Bank Batavia First Building (built 1904) Kota Tua (2025) 3 photos · 2025
GedungInternationalecrediet-en, Jakarta — photos through time
GedungInternationalecrediet-en 2 photos · 1929–2025
Museum Bank Indonesia, Jakarta — photos through time
Museum Bank Indonesia 2 photos · 2012–2023
Museum Bank Mandiri, Jakarta — photos through time
Museum Bank Mandiri 2 photos · 2012–2025
Museum Fatahillah 2, Jakarta — photos through time
Museum Fatahillah 2 2 photos · 1890–2022

Stories from Jakarta

What contributors wrote about these photographs.

EU: Consulaat van de stad Bremen aan de Kali Besar in Batavia (1850), Jakarta, 1850
EU: Consulaat van de stad Bremen aan de Kali Besar in Batavia (1850) 1850 The Bremen consulate building stands along the Kali Besar canal in Batavia, as the Dutch colonial-era city now known as Jakarta was called in 1850. The canal was a central artery of the old town, lined with the offices…
EU: Societeit de Harmonie in Jakarta. (1900), Jakarta, 1900
EU: Societeit de Harmonie in Jakarta. (1900) 1900 Societeit de Harmonie was a members' social club in Batavia, present-day Jakarta, photographed here in 1900. Such societeiten were gathering places for the Dutch colonial elite, hosting balls, theater and billiards, and…
EU: WeltevWel( Jakarta) or Glodok (Old Town) by Batavia, Indonesia. Tourists watching locals washing clothes and bleaching on the canal (1913), Jakarta, 1913
EU: WeltevWel( Jakarta) or Glodok (Old Town) by Batavia, Indonesia. Tourists watching locals washing clothes and bleaching on the canal (1913) 1913 Tourists watch locals washing and bleaching clothes along a canal in the Glodok, or old town, quarter of Batavia (Jakarta) in this 1913 photograph, a scene of everyday riverside life set against the backdrop of the Dutch…
EU: Batavia (Jakarta), Indonesien. Städtischer Kanal im Vorort Weltevreden (1913), Jakarta, 1913
EU: Batavia (Jakarta), Indonesien. Städtischer Kanal im Vorort Weltevreden (1913) 1913 A canal running through Weltevreden, a suburb of Batavia (present-day Jakarta), photographed in 1913. Weltevreden had developed into an administrative and residential district of the colonial capital of the Dutch East…
Gedung Arsip Bank Mandiri, Jakarta, 2012
Gedung Arsip Bank Mandiri 2012 This building in Jakarta's old town, Kota Tua, once served as an archive of a Dutch-era trading bank and now forms part of the Bank Mandiri Museum complex. Its Art Deco facade reflects the commercial architecture built…
Batavia Fatahillah Square, Kota Tua Jakarta 02, Jakarta, 2022
Batavia Fatahillah Square, Kota Tua Jakarta 02 2022 Fatahillah Square anchors Kota Tua, Jakarta's old town built up around the former city hall of Dutch colonial Batavia. Captured in 2022, the square remains one of the best-preserved traces of the city's 17th- and…
Het Nieuws van den Dag, Jl Kali Besar Barat, Jakarta (2025), Jakarta, 2025
Het Nieuws van den Dag, Jl Kali Besar Barat, Jakarta (2025) 2025 The former building of the newspaper Het Nieuws van den Dag on Jalan Kali Besar Barat in Jakarta, photographed in 2025. The publication was one of several Dutch-language newspapers produced in Batavia during the colonial…
Gedung Jasa Raharja, Kali Besar Kota Tua Jakarta (2025), Jakarta, 2025
Gedung Jasa Raharja, Kali Besar Kota Tua Jakarta (2025) 2025 The Jasa Raharja building along Kali Besar in Jakarta's Kota Tua (Old Town) district, photographed in 2025. The Kali Besar canal was the commercial spine of Batavia during the Dutch colonial era, and its surviving…
1850s · 1 photo
1860s · 2 photos
1890s · 2 photos
1900s · 5 photos
1910s · 9 photos
1920s · 1 photo
1940s · 1 photo
1970s · 2 photos
1980s · 1 photo
2000s · 1 photo
2010s · 13 photos · showing 12, all 13 on the map ↗
2020s · 27 photos · showing 12, all 27 on the map ↗