Rengasdengklok

Rengasdengklok is a town and district in the North Coast region of West Java, Indonesia.

Understand

The room where Soekarno was taken during the Rengasdengklok Affair.

Rengasdengklok is a district in Karawang Regency, about 15 km north of the regency capital Karawang.

Rengasdengklok is known in Indonesia from the Peristiwa Rengasdengklok or 'Rengasdengklok Affair' that happened on 16 August 1945. The day before, Japan had surrendered, effectively ending the Second World War. As allowed by the Japanese a few weeks before, Soekarno (leader of the nationalist movement) had established the PPKI committee to prepare the government structure of an independent Indonesia. However, in the early morning of 16 August, another nationalist group (PETA) kidnapped Soekarno and brought him to a house in Rengasdengklok (about 70 km from Central Jakarta), to pressure him to declare independence as soon as possible. In Rengasdengklok, the first draft of the declaration of independence was prepared. Later that day, Soekarno was taken back to Jakarta, and in the morning of 17 August 1945 the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read.

Get in

Rengasdengklok is about 15 km north of Karawang. The town can be easily reached from both Karawang and Bekasi (30 km). To get to Rengasdengklok by public transport, there is an angkot (public minivan) route from the bus terminal of Karawang.

See

• 1 Monumen Kebulatan Tekad (Monument of Determination), Jl. Raya Tugu Proklamasi. Daily 8:00-16:00. Monument for the Rengasdengklok Affair and Indonesian independence. (updated Oct 2016)
• 2 Rumah Sejarah ('Historic House'), Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan No. 33. The house that was owned by Djiaw Kie Siong, where Soekarno was brought on 16 August 1945 after he was kidnapped. The house is now like a small memorial/museum, with old pictures, and furniture that was already there in 1945. The house has been moved about 150 metres to the east in 1957, because it was prone to flooding because of the nearby Citarum river. (updated Oct 2016)

Buy

• 1 Rengasdengklok Market (Pasar Rengasdengklok), Jl. Pasar Rengasdengklok. Just like a conventional traditional market, groceries in the market building are selling foodstuff. But along the Rengasdengklok Market street, there are lots of store that sell various stuff such as medical supply and mobile phone. (updated Apr 2022)

Eat

Green serabi and normal serabi.

A well-known type of food from Rengasdengklok is serabi hijau. Serabi is a pancake that is made from rice flour with coconut milk, that is made throughout Java. However, the serabi from Rengasdengklok is special because it is green ('hijau'), using the leaves of a type of dracaena plant (daun suji).

• 1 Serabi Hijau, Jl. Kalijaya No. 2, ☏ +62 267 480 776. 7:00-17:00. The famous seller of Serabi Hijau in Rengasdengklok. On the sign outside the place it is indicated that no other brances will be opened, so if you want to try, you will have to go to Rengasdengklok. (updated Oct 2016)

Sleep

There are no hotels in Rengasdengklok. Hotels and other accommodations can be found in Karawang (15 km), Bekasi (30 km), or Jakarta (50 km).

Go next

• Batujaya — possibly the oldest temple complex of Java island, about 20 km northwest of Rengasdengklok.
• Bekasi — the nearest major city with many shopping facilities, restaurants, and hotels.