Fort Vastenburg

A draw bridge used to provide access point to the fort's western main portal, however this has been demolished.

Most agreed that Fort Vastenburg was constructed in 1743 and was completed in 1745, following the order of Governor-General Baron van Imhoff.

[3] The main function of the fort was to house the resident (colonial administrator) and the Dutch East Indies garrison for the region of Central Java.

Under the Dutch Treaty of Salatiga, Raden Mas Said decided to build his own (smaller) palace — Kraton Mangkunegaran — establishing a second royal court in the city.

This weakened the city's sense of integrity, and so Fort Vastenburg have the possible conflict between royalties checked.

In the 19th century, the interior of the fort contains a number of military buildings surrounding a central courtyard.

[1] During the French-influenced government of Daendels, it was decided that a fort system was no longer the best strategy to maintain order in the colonial empire.

[5] During the Japanese Occupation period, Fort Vastenburg was used by the Bala Dai Nippon army.

From 1970s to 1980s Fort Vastenburg was used as a training ground for the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), which acted as the RI Defense and Security Agency.