Semarang - City of Indonesia

Semarang is a city on the north coast of the island of Java, Indonesia. It is the capital of the province of Central Java. A major port during the Dutch colonial era, and still an important port today, the city has a large ethnically Chinese population.

Semarang, may have originated from the concatenation of the words "assam" and "arang" . Another version is that Semarang is originated from Chinese word Sam Po Lang , meaning "the city of Sam Po" .

Semarang's history dates back to the ninth century, when it was known as Bergota. By the end of fifteenth century, a Javanese Islamic missionary from nearby Sultanate of Demak with the name of Kyai Pandan Arang founded a village and an Islamic boarding school in this place. On May 1, 1547, after consulting Sunan Kalijaga, Sultan Hadiwijaya of Pajang declared Kyai Pandan Arang the first bupati of Semarang, thus culturally and politically, on this day Semarang was born.

The population of Semarang is predominantly Javanese, though with smaller numbers of people from many regions in Indonesia. The city is known for its large ethnically Chinese population. The main languages spoken are Indonesian and Javanese. Sometimes Hokkien Chinese or Mandarin is spoken among the Chinese minority.

Semarang is home to several notable universities and high schools. A notable state-owned university at Semarang is Diponegoro University. Other notable universities are Soegijapranata Catholic University and Sultan Agung Islamic University. Among the other schools is Karangturi, a national private school which has facilities for children in Kindergarten through senior high school. Karangturi is known for having a high proportion of Chinese-Indonesian students.

As a result of its large ethnically Chinese population, the city boasts several Chinese temples. These include Sam Po Kong , built in honour of the Chinese Great Admiral Zheng He who visited the area in 1405, and Tay Kak Sie Temple. Blenduk Church, a 1753 Protestant church built by the Dutch, is located in the old town . Tugu Muda , a monument to heroes of Indonesia's independence struggle, is located in a large roundabout surrounded by famous buildings such as Gedung Lawang Sewu and the Semarang Cathedral. Jalan Pemuda, one of the roads leading into the roundabout, is a major shopping street. The Cathedral of the Holy Rosary is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Semarang.