Ruins of Old City Wall (Bandar Melaka)

Malaysia / Melaka / Bandar Melaka / Jalan Parameswara
 ruins, interesting place, city wall
Built during Portuguese colonisation and was torn down by the British. It was discovered and unearthed during construction of Dataran Pahlawan.
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Coordinates:   2°11'28"N   102°14'59"E

Comments

  • I would love to know the history of this wall. In particular, I would like to know the following: 1. when was the wall constructed? 2. what were the reasons for the construction? 3. have the reasons change with time? 4. are the reasons in 2 and 3 still relevant? 5. what are the function of the wall today?
  • 1. The City Wall was constructed since Portuguese Colonisation Period back in year 1511 and was later reinforced by the Dutch in the 17th century. 2. Malacca being one of the well known seaports for international trade especially prominent in the spices market had attracted the Portuguese to conquer and bring down the Malaccan Malay Sultanate. City Wall was then built to protect the Portuguese Malacca from being attacked by the remnants of the sultanate. 3. Malacca was later developed well as a stronghold of Portuguese in the South East Asia, besides being an international seaport. Then in the Dutch Colonisation Period, the Dutch didn't care much about developing Malacca seaport, Malacca only served as an administrative centre to the Dutch. The stronghold built on St. John Hill which was surrounded by the City Wall was then turned into a Church. Lastly, when Malacca was handed over to British, City Wall was torn down with explosive by the British as Malacca was never a significant seaport anymore in that era when Penang Island and Singapore rose back in the 19th century; and without the City Wall which has only 1 entrance to access, administration can be much easier. 4. Reasons in 2 and 3 aren't relevant anymore. Only the entrance (locally called the A'Famosa, marked nearby) survived from the British destruction, but Malaccan government has started to reinstall the City Wall as well as its historical glory as for tourism attraction. The fort (Bastion Middelburg) by the river that you see at Jalan Laksamana was part of the reinstalled City Wall. As for the ruins here (the one nearby Malaya Independence Monument), it was discovered a few years back. 5. They are precious historical remains, indeed valuable heritage to Malacca City now which pull a lot of tourists to visit the town. For your information, tourism industry made up a vital economy sector for the historic Malacca City nowadays.
  • Amendment: The ruins on the St. Paul's Hill was first a church in the Portuguese Era, then turned into a stronghold during the Dutch Era since the church was damaged in the war between Portuguese & Dutch.
This article was last modified 16 years ago