Barracks of Fort Van Der Wijck

Fort Van der Wijck was built in the early 19th century, around 1820, in the time that the revolt of Diponegoro was growing. This revolt kept the Dutch colonial government very busy because Diponegoro was supported by some of the elite from southern Java. Because of this, the Dutch colonial government decided to construct a system of fortes in that area.

The leader of the construction of this fort was governor general Van den Bosch. It's destination was obviously to retain safety in the district of South Kedu. At that time many fortes were built with the help from forced labor because the people had to pay some taxes in the form of labor to the Dutch colonial government. It is clear this way made the inhabitants more wary of the situation they were in, and that even before governor general Deandels ordered the construction of the Groote Postweg (Anyer - Penarukan, over 1,000 kilometers of road), also with the help of forced labor.

Seen from the shape of the building, it was constructed in the same period as fort Willem in Ambarawa (south of Semarang in Central Java) and fort Prins Oranje in Semarang (north coast Central Java), which is a ruin nowadays. When it was built, it had walls with a height of ten meters and it bare the name Fort Cochius. The name was taken from a wife of a Dutch military person, Frans David Cochius) which has done military service in the area of Bagelen, within the then district of Kedu.

The name Van der Wijck, which is now above the entrance, originates from another Dutch military figure that once was the commander of the fort. Van der Wijck had a good reputation because one of his actions was to silence the independence fighters of Aceh, in a fierce way. During the Japanese occupation, this fort was used as barracks and training camp for the PETA (Pembela Tanah Airor 'Fighters for the country').

Seen from it's physical structure, the size of the building is just over 3,600 m2. The building has been renovated and is maintained at that level. Too bad the renovation didn't keep track to much of it's historical value, so it can be promoted as a piece of cultural heritage. The current owner of the building, like most forts and fortresses in Indonesia, is the Indonesian military. Short of money, they have turned this fortress into a small theme park.

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