Gombong
Gombong ( 7°36′S 109°31′E / 7.600°S 109.517°ECoordinates: 7°36′S 109°31′E / 7.600°S 109.517°E) is a city in Kebumen Regency, in the southern part of Central Java, a province in Indonesia. The city has almost 49,000 inhabitants and the total land area is 19.48 km². Local people speak Banyumasan, a dialect of Javanese.
In 1964, construction of the Catholic Church of St. Michael Parish was completed. In 1996,the Wonokriyo market was built, becoming the biggest one in the region. A few dinosaur statues are located around the city: at the entrance of Fort Van der Wijck, at Tirta Manggala Swimming Pools and at Sempor Reservoir.[1]
Fort Van der Wijk, which was built in the early 19th century by General Johannes Van den Bosch, is located in the northern part of the city.[2] The military compound served to train soldiers for later service in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army. Suharto, the second President of Indonesia, began his service here on 1 June 1940 prior to the Japanese occupation).[3] The fort was used by the Indonesian Armed Forces until 2000. Since then the compound has been developed as a recreational site.
Notable people
- Maus Gatsonides (1911), Dutch rally driver and inventor of the speed camera.
- Jan Hamer (1927), Dutch survivor during Hurricane Katrina featured in the 2007 book Holding Out and Hanging On: Surviving Hurricane Katrina by Thomas Neff.
- Willem Nijholt (1934), Dutch actor and singer.
References
- ↑ See the dinosaurs in district Gombong
- ↑ History of Fort Van der Wijk
- ↑ Elson, Robert E. (2001). Suharto: A Political Biography. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN 0-521-77326-1.