Lawang Sewu
The former head office of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company in Semarang, its name Javanese for a thousand doors, after its endless rows of doors and tall windows. The building is now a museum and heritage railway gallery run by Indonesia's national railway.
- Where
- Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
- Grade
- Local gem
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site
- Coordinates
- -6.9839, 110.4106
Get the Lawang Sewu stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Lawang Sewu. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Central Java volume with your photos and a note.
Near Lawang Sewu
Sam Poo Kong 2.0 km
The oldest Chinese temple in Semarang, said to have been founded by the Ming admiral Zheng He where his fleet came ashore. Its red halls are shared today by worshippers of several faiths, Muslims and Buddhists among them, Chinese and Javanese alike.
Great Mosque of Central Java 3.9 km
The provincial grand mosque of Central Java, on the edge of Semarang, mixing Javanese, Arab and Roman touches. Its courtyard has giant hydraulic umbrellas that open like those of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and a tall minaret gives a view over the city.
Demak Great Mosque 27 km
One of the oldest mosques in Indonesia, believed to have been built in the 15th century by the Wali Songo, the nine saints who spread Islam in Java, under the first Sultan of Demak. Its layered Javanese roof stands on wooden pillars, one said to be made by Sunan Kalijaga from wood chips.
Mount Merapi 62 km
The most active volcano in Indonesia, rising on the border of Central Java and Yogyakarta about 28 kilometres north of the city. It has erupted regularly since 1548, and villages sit on its flanks as high as 1,700 metres.
Dieng Plateau 65 km
A high plateau on the floor of a volcanic caldera in Central Java, cool, misty and farmed with vegetables. It holds some of the oldest Hindu temples on Java, along with steaming craters and coloured lakes.
Sangiran 71 km
An excavation site north of Solo that ranks among the most important in the world for the study of early humans. Fossils of Homo erectus have been found here in large numbers, and a museum on the site displays them.
Mendut Temple 72 km
A 9th-century Buddhist temple about 3 kilometres east of Borobudur, standing in a straight line with Pawon and Borobudur itself. Inside sit three large stone figures: a seated Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas.
Borobudur 73 km
The largest Buddhist temple in the world, a 9th-century Mahayana monument near Magelang built as a stepped mountain of stone. Pilgrims walk clockwise up through galleries of carved relief panels to a summit ringed by stupas, each holding a seated Buddha.
More hidden gems in Central Java
Questions
Where is Lawang Sewu?
Lawang Sewu is in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Sam Poo Kong (2.0 km), Great Mosque of Central Java (3.9 km), Demak Great Mosque (27 km).
How do I get the Lawang Sewu stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Lawang Sewu and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Central Java volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Lawang Sewu before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Central Java volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
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