Surabaya facts for kids

Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia, is the capital of East Java. The meaning of Surabaya is combination of sura meaning shark and baya meaning crocodile. There are about 3 million people living in Surabaya and they speak a dialect of Malay called Suroboyoan. Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta. Surabaya is located on the edge of the northern coast of Java Island and dealing with the Madura Strait and Java Sea.

Historical Places

There are many museums and monuments that represents and shows the history of Surabaya.

House of Sampoerna

The House of Sampoerna is a museum that exhibits from the story of the founder of Sampoerna, Liem Seeng Tee to history of tobacco making. One part of the museum shows the history of how this place was found. It starts from Seeng Tee moving to Indonesia after the death of his wife until how he found the old building of Dutch-supported orphanage. There are displays of Seeng Tee’s old objects such as his bicycle, motorcycle, and equipment and objects related to tobacco. There is a tobacco plant within the building where 3,500 women are rolling Dji Sam Soe cigarettes.

Gereja Perawan Maria Tak Berdosa

Gereja Perawan Maria Tak Berdosa is a Catholic church. It is one of the old buildings left from during the Dutch invasion in the 18th century. It is the oldest church in East Java. It has been preserved by the Dutch government in Indonesia. Despite the fact that it is old, the brick stones are undamaged. Without air-conditioning in the hot weather of Indonesia, the temperature inside the church is low and cool. Services were held since 1800s and it still continues today every Sunday in Chinese.

Tugu Pahlawan

Surabaya is not only the second largest city in Indonesia but it is known as the “city of heroes” because of the role it played in the Battle of Surabaya in November 10, 1945. This monument Tugu Pahlawan, Heroes Monument, is the symbol of Surabaya and is built to respect the heroes who fought for independence. This rocket-like monument points towards the moon 41.15 meters high. Along with the monument, there is a museum where diorama of Surabaya in 1945 is displayed. History of Surabaya at that time could be seen through pictures, clips, and stories. There are other buildings surrounding the monument to depict the struggles Indonesians had to go through.

Health Museum of Dr. Adhyatma

Health Museum of Dr. Adhyatma was built in 1990s in order to save and maintain nation's cultural heritage. This museum exhibits historical items related to health and items that are used today. In September 14, 2004, Minister of Health changed the name of the museum to "Health Museum of Dr. Adhyatma, MPH - MOH. There is a special library in the museum that displays materials such as books, magazines, tapes, and video recording that provides information about health studies. The museum also has different show rooms that displays different equipments used in the past and genealogy of royal families of Indonesia.

Images for kids

Fighting shark and crocodile, the emblem of Surabaya city applied since colonial times, derived from local folk etymology
Dutch residenthuis (Resident House) along the water in Surabaya
Map of Surabaya from an 1897 English travel-guide
Red Bridge area from the air in the 1920s.
Handelstraat, Surabaya in the 1930s: subsequently the Jembatan Merah area.
Cheng Hoo Mosque, Surabaya
Traffic in a Surabaya street in 1958 as seen from Dutch Trading Company building
Ujung passenger Port
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Plaza Tunjungan.
A street in Surabaya.
Jembatan Merah, near Kya-Kya Kembang Jepun.
Mosque in Surabaya