Depok is a city in West Java, Indonesia. It is part of the Jabotabek metropolitan area. Depok has an area of 200.29 km², and it has a population of 1,374,903 (2005 est).

History

In 18 May 1696, a former VOC officer Cornelis Chastelein bought the land that forms today's Depok. It is believed that, prior to his death, Cornelis has written a will that freed the slaves of Depok and gave them pieces of his land, therefore converting slaves into landlords.

In 1871, the Dutch government allowed Depok to form its own government and president. The ruling was no longer stood after 1952, where the Depok presidency ceded its control of Depok to the Indonesian government except for a few areas.

In March 1982 Depok was reclassified as an administrative city, and in 1999, as a city.

Administrative

Subdistricts

Depok is divided into 6 subdistricts: Beji, Cimanggis, Limo, Pancoran Mas, Sawangan, and Sukmajaya.

Mayors

List of Mayors of Depok:

• Moch. Rukasah Suradimadja (1982-1984)
• I. Tamdjid (1984-1988)
• Abdul Wachyan (1988-1991)
• Moch Masduki (1991 - 1992)
• Sofyan Safari Hamim (1992-1996)
• Badrul Kamal (1997-2005)
• Nur Mahmudi Ismail (2005-Now)

Commerce

Depok has an ever growing eclectic collection of malls and traditional markets.

Older malls or other notable shopping centers in Depok include Mall Depok, Depok Plaza, and SixtyOne Building, and Depok ITC.

As for food, Depok has many local restaurants, but also is home to international chains such as McDonalds, A&W, Dunkin Donuts, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Starbucks.

Modern day landmarks that were once known as Depok's primary shopping centers include Ramanda (now an autoshop plus education centre), Hero Supermarket (now Index Home Furnishings), Agung Shop (now defunct and burned during the riot), and Target (now defunct).

There are several new shopping centers in Depok: ITC Depok (anchor tenant: Carrefour), Depok Town Square -commonly referred to as DeTos (anchor tenant: Matahari), and the latest mall which is Margo City (anchor tenants: Centro, Giant, Electronic City), all located on the street 'Margonda Raya.'

Traditional markets include Pasar Depok Baru, Pasar Depok Lama (short: Pasar Lama), Pasar Kemiri (originally expanded to facilitate the move of Pasar Lama traders), Pasar PAL, Pasar Agung, Pasar Musi, Pasar Majapahit

Depok has several major bookstores including a Gramedia and Toko Gunung Agung and a large collection of small roadside bookstores.

Education

Depok is known as the city of students. Despite its relatively young age, Depok is the home of several big universities:

• University of Indonesia
• Universitas Gunadarma
• Politeknik Tugu
• Politeknik Negeri Jakarta

Transportation

Public car transportation (angkot) is the major means of transportation in Depok. The other mean of transport is train that connects Depok to Jakarta to the north and Bogor to the south. In Depok there are two major Train Stations. The Depok or Depok Lama (Old Depok) Station which is older and has many more tracks, is located to the south. The Depok Baru (New Depok) Station is located closer to Jakarta. There are also smaller train stations: University of Indonesia and Pondok Cina. The train is the fastest and most-used way to travel to central Jakarta, and is usually extremely crowded during peak times.

External links

• Official site
• Depok, Indonesia
• The history of Depok
• Nature reserve Pancoran Mas in subdistrict Pancoran Mas of Depok
• Margo City The biggest mall in Depok
• Universitas Gunadarma

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