[1] In 1760, after the foundation of the new Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, the Dutch governor of North Java coast Nicolaas Harting requested a fort to be built in Yogyakarta.

After the Japanese left in 1945, Fort Vredeburg served the Indonesian Army as a military command post, barracks and prison for suspected members of the communist party.

[4] In 1984 Nugroho Notosusanto, the new Minister, changed the original plans and instead, created a museum intended to showcase Indonesia's struggle for independence.

[3] Yogyakarta was devastated by an event that damaged a large number of buildings and cultural properties in the region, including the fort.

[2] This fort was built as the center of government and defense for the Dutch residents at that time, surrounded by a moat (jagang) of which some of the remains have been reconstructed and can be seen today.