Fort Rotterdam

Fort Rotterdam
Fort Rotterdam in 2010
Fort Rotterdam is located in Indonesia
Fort Rotterdam
Location within Indonesia
General information
Architectural style17th century colonial
Town or cityMakassar
CountryIndonesia
Coordinates5°08′03″S 119°24′20″E / 5.13417°S 119.40556°E / -5.13417; 119.40556
Construction started1673
Completed1679
Technical details
Structural systemStone built barracks fort

Fort Rotterdam is a 17th-century fort in Makassar on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a Dutch fort that was built on top of an existing fort of the Gowa Kingdom. The first fort on the site was constructed by the a local sultan around 1634, to counter Dutch encroachments. The site was ceded to the Dutch under the Treaty of Bongaya, and they completely rebuilt it between 1673 and 1679. It had six bastions and was surrounded by a seven meter high rampart and a two meter deep moat.

The fort was the Dutch regional military and governmental headquarters until the 1930s. It was extensively restored in the 1970s and is now a cultural and educational centre, a venue for music and dance events, and a tourist destination.