What to See in Surabaya - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Surabaya, Indonesia. The House of Sampoerna is a tobacco museum and headquarters of Sampoerna located in Surabaya. The main building's architectural style influenced by Dutch colonial-style compound was built in 1862, and is now a preserved historical site. Previously used as an orphanage managed by the Dutch‚ it was purchased in 1932, by Liem Seeng Tee‚ the founder of Sampoerna‚ with the intent of it being used as Sampoerna's first major cigarette production facility. The compound consisted of a large central auditorium‚ two smaller buildings on the east and west sides and numerous large‚ single story‚ open-space structures behind the central auditorium. The side buildings were converted to family residences and the large warehouse-like structures were used to accommodate facilities for tobacco and clove processing‚ blending‚ hand-rolling and packaging‚ printing and finished goods processing. In commemoration of Sampoerna's 90th anniversary in 2003‚ the central complex has been painstakingly restored and is now open to public. The original central auditorium is now a museum and a shop. The east side has been transformed into a unique structure containing a café and an art gallery. The building on the west side remains the official family residence.^[1]

Taoist temple in Surabaya, Indonesia. Sanggar Agung Temple or Hong San Tang is a Chinese temple in Surabaya dedicated to Chinese deities and other Asian religious icons. It is located within the Pantai Ria amusement park and has become a tourist destination, even though it is originally a worship place for Tridharma followers. The name of Sanggar Agung is derived from Indonesian language which can be translated as Great Hall.

The main icon of this temple is a 20 meters tall statue of Guan Yin on the waterfront, as a symbol that this temple is dedicated to Nan Hai Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa or Guan Yin Bodhisattva of the South Sea. The giant statue was built after one of its employees saw a woman dressed in white walking on the sea as she was about closing the temple at night, believed as the appearance of Guan Yin herself. The other icon is the giant Phra Phrom statue covered with gold.^[4]

Museum in Surabaya, Indonesia. The Heroes Monument is a monument in Surabaya, East Java. It is the main symbol of the city, dedicated to the people who died during the Battle of Surabaya on 10 November 1945. The 10 November Museum is located under the monument.

This monument is 41.15 metres tall and is phallus-shaped. It was built to commemorate the events of 10 November 1945 at the Battle of Surabaya. It is the venue every 10 November for the commemoration of the events of 1945, when many heroes died in the war of independence.

The groundbreaking was led by Sukarno, the first Indonesian President, accompanied by Surabaya Mayor, Doel Arnowo on 10 November 1951. It was officially opened one year later, also by Sukarno, on 10 November 1952 witnessed by Surabaya Mayor, R. Moestadjab Soemowidigdo.

The 10 November Museum was built to explain the meaning behind the Heroes Monument. The building consists of 2 floors, with exhibitions symbolizing the spirit of the Surabayan people's struggle. There is an auditorium on the first floor. The museum contains reproductions of documentary photographs, and there are dioramas that presents eight events that happened around the 10 November 1945 clashes.^[8]

Mosque in Surabaya, Indonesia. Al-Akbar Mosque, also known as Great Mosque of Surabaya, is a national mosque located in Surabaya, East Java. It is the second largest mosque in Indonesia after Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta in terms of maximum capacity. The location of the mosque is beside the Surabaya-Porong Highway Road. Its most distinctive feature is its large vertical dome, accompanied by four small blue domes. It also has a minaret with height of 99 meters, an ode to the 99 Names of Allah.

The groundbreaking was initiated on August 4, 1995, after the idea by Soenarto Soemoprawiro, the Mayor of Surabaya at the time. The construction was marked by the laying of the first stones by Try Sutrisno, the Vice President of Indonesia. Due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis however, the construction was temporarily suspended. The construction was resumed in 1999 and completed in 2000. On November 10, 2000, inauguration was held by the President of Indonesia, KH. Abdurrahman Wahid. In terms of area, the building and supporting facilities combined are 22,300 square meters wide. The building has length of 147 meters and width of 128 meters. The roof consists of a large dominating dome supported by four small domes and a minaret. The uniqueness of this dome is in its shape which almost resembles a half egg with 1.5 layers which has a height of around 27 meters. To cover the dome, a product that was used for several other mosques such as Selangor Grand Mosque in Shah Alam, Malaysia was also utilized. Other features of this gigantic mosque include the entrance into the high and large rooms of the mosque and its mihrab which is the largest in Indonesia.^[9]