Jam Gadang, The Icon Monument of Bukittinggi
- ANTARA FOTO/Iggoy el Fitra
VIVA – West Sumatra is famous for the city of Padang which holds tourist historical buildings, namely the Clock Tower or locally known as Jam Gadang. The building is located in the city of Bukittinggi. The location from the city of Padang is about 72 km, the distance can be reached within 2 hours. The Jam Gadang is the main icon of the city of Bukittinggi, which is a relic of the Queen of the Netherlands.
Jam Gadang was founded by the Dutch East Indies colonial government on the orders of Queen Wilhelmina who was the Queen of the Netherlands. This clock was a gift for the secretary (controleur) of the City of Bukittinggi (Fort de Kock) who served at the time, HR Rookmaaker.
The Jam Gadang Monument stands 26 meters high in the middle of Sabai Nan Aluih Park which is considered a benchmark for the center point (zero point) of Bukittinggi City. The construction does not use an iron frame and cement, but uses a mixture of limestone, egg white, and sand.
At Jam Gadang, there is uniqueness such as the Jam Gadang Tower Building has 4 levels. The first level is the clerk's room, the second level is the pendulum clock. While on the third level is where the clock machine is located and the fourth level is the top of the tower where the clock bell is placed. The bell above has something to do with the machine that rings at certain hours.
The bagonjong-shaped roof at the top of the tower that we can now see is not the original form of the building in its early days. The early design of the Clock Tower crest was in European style, with a statue of a rooster at the top.
Entering the era of Japanese occupation, the roof of Jam Gadang was changed to follow the Japanese architectural style. When the independence period arrived, the roof was remodeled into a bagonjong roof which is a characteristic of the original Minangkabau architecture.
