The name Menteng is derived from the name of the primary landowner of this area. Meneer Van Muntinghe, where its treasured history always reminisces us to the authentic essence of beauty and richness of life. Created in the early 1920s by a private Dutch corporation, NV De Bouwploeg led by architect PJS Moojen, Menteng is a well-thought development that was fashioned to be the utterly privileged district in Batavia.
A brilliant blueprint of sound environment,
The vigorous progress of planology strategy in Europe during the Dutch Colonial era has brought high influence to the planning and development policies in Batavia, particularly Menteng area.
Menteng residential district was intended to depict profound European ambience with its classic, oud indische stijl, art deco, and tropical European villa style. Bataviasche Bouwverordening, the first planology regulation for East Indies, strictly controlled all development for properties within the area.
Legitimately, all residence must expend 30 percent of its land for garden purpose, and the shape of each building must be designed outward, blending nicely with the environment to create a thick tropical character that became the distinctiveness of Menteng neighborhood.
Taking on tropical concept brought by the Dutch, Menteng is pronounced as the first garden city in Indonesia. It has ample of captivating parks that are known to be the landmarks of Batavia, such as Wilhelminapark (Istiqlal area), Frombergspark (Chairil Anwar Park), Decapark (a park across the presidential palace), and Burgermeester Bisschopplein (Surapati Park).
