Historical Places in Medan, North Sumatra You Should Visit

When it comes to your mind what should you do when you are in Medan so the answer is culinary hopping. Yes, Medan is the city of culinary. But, besides the culinary itself there are many things you can enjoy when you are in one of the biggest cities in Indonesia, one of them is visiting historical places.

Medan is also well-known as a mixed cultural city. There are many different cultures that you can find out here. Here are some most-visited cultural places in Medan.

1. Masjid Raya Al-Mashun Medan (Raya Al-Mashun Mosque of Medan)

Raya Al-Mashun Mosque or better known as Raya Mosque is an iconic mosque that was established when Sultan Maimun Al Rasyid Perkasa Alam was in his heyday. It took 3 years to build the mosque starting from 1906 – 1909. Raya Mosque is in the same area with Maimun Castle (we explain it later) and adopted more than one architectural style. They are including Spanish, Indian, Middle East and Malay styles definitely. It is octagonal and has several wings in the north, east, south, and west. This iconic mosque is one of the historical witnesses of the greatness of Malay tribes possessed by Deli Sultanate (Medan City). This is not only a place to pray but also a place to dig into Deli Sultanate history.

2. Rumah Tjong A Fie (Tjong A Fie Mansion)

Tjong A Fie Mansion was a palm plantation, sugar factory, and railway magnate and was an immigrant from Guangdong, China. His famous mansion takes place at Jenderal Ahmad Yani Street or Kesawan Street, not far from Kesawan Street you can see a huge gate with chinese characters. There are two lion statues right in front of the entrance welcoming visitors. The chinese culture is well-described in this mansion where two red lanterns hang from a ceiling nearby the entrance and a large empty room in the middle of the mansion. For people who want to visit, it costs IDR 35,000 per each to get into the mansion including ticket, one drink and tour guide fee. It opens everyday at 09.00 am – 12.00 pm and 02.00 pm – 05.00 pm.

3. Istana Maimun (Maimun Castle)

Maimun castle is one of the icons Deli Sultanate heritage in Medan. This Malay-patterned castle was built in 1888 and finished in 1891 when Sultan Mahmud Al Rasyid was in control. The attractiveness of this castle is that even it is quite old but the architecture remains solid and affected by many different cultures especially moslem. The influence of the architectural style is similar with Raya Mosque coming from Malay, Spanish, Indian, Italian, and as well as Middle East. There are three main parts inside the castle namely main building, right-wing building, and left-wing building. Yellow is the main colour dominating the castle and is a right place to get to know more about Deli Sultanate history and to see its relics. For visit, it opens at 08.00 am – 05.00 pm and costs IDR 8,000 per person.

4. Gedung London Sumatra (London Sumatra Tower)

When talking about historical places in Medan, London Sumatra Tower is not exceptional. Located in strategist area, this tower is very accessible for visitors surrounded by other historical places such Kantor Post Medan (post office of Medan) and Bank Indonesia . Built in 1906 by the owner of rubber plantation, Harrison & Crossfield Company (H&C) centered in London, this tower was fuctioned as a trade office. The name of the tower was changed to Juliana Building for the sake of Dutch Princess Juliana after it had been taken over by Dutch Government. All facilities still exist and and are well-operated, one of them is its elevator with art deco decoration. The ownership of the building went to Indonesia when Indonesia got the independence day in 1945. It is free for visitors.

Indonesia is a multicultural country, you can find many different tribes in one place. That is Indonesia!