Parks

The National Monument in the center of Medan Merdeka Park

Taman Suropati is located in Menteng garden city subdistrict, Central Jakarta. The park is surrounded by several Dutch colonial buildings. Taman Suropati was known as Burgemeester Bishopplein during the Dutch colonial time. The park is circular shaped with a surface area of 16,322 m2. There are several modern statues in the park made by artists of the ASEAN countries, which contributes to the other nickname of the park "Taman persahabatan seniman ASEAN" ("Park of the ASEAN artists friendship"). Still located in Menteng area are the parks Taman Menteng and Situ Lembang pond. The Taman Menteng was built on the former Persija soccer Stadium.
Taman Lapangan Banteng (Buffalo Field Park) is located in Central Jakarta near Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta Cathedral, and Jakarta Central Post Office. It is about 4,5 hectares. Initially it was called Waterlooplein of Batavia and functioned as the ceremonial square during Netherlands Indies. Many of the colonial monuments and memorials erected on the square were demolished during Sukarno era which later built the present monument in the square. The most notable landmark inside the park is the Monumen Pembebasan Irian Barat (Monument of the Liberation of Irian Barat). During the 1980s, the park is used as a bus terminal. In 1993, the park turned into a public space again and has become a recreation place for people and occasionally also used as an exhibition place or other events. The Jakarta Flona (Flora dan Fauna), the flower and decoration plants also pet exhibition is held in this park around August annually.
Taman Monas (Monas Park) or Taman Medan Merdeka (Medan Merdeka Park) is the park where the symbol of Jakarta, Monas or Monumen Nasional (National Monument) is located. The large open space was created by Dutch Governor General Herman Willem Daendels (1810) and was originally named Koningsplein (Kings Square). On 10 January 1993, President Soeharto initiate the action toward the beautification of the park. Several features in the park is a deer park and 33 trees that represents the 33 provinces of Indonesia.