# Construction of the Stadthuys (1650s (begun 1650))

URL: https://allhistories.com/malaysia/timeline/1650-construction-of-the-stadthuys
Location: Dutch Square, Malacca
Themes: Heritage, Dutch Malacca

Construction of the Stadthuys began in 1650, in the decade after the Dutch took Malacca. It housed the office of the Dutch governor and deputy governor. Wikipedia describes it as the 'supposed oldest remaining Dutch historical building in the Orient', although that claim is hard to verify. After 1641 the Dutch needed to administer Malacca, but their priority lay at Batavia, and Malacca received little investment. Even so, the Company built a civic centre in the colonial style of the Netherlands, with thick walls, shuttered windows and a red-painted exterior that later became a Malacca trademark. Under the British the building served as the Treasury, Post Office, government offices and apartments for senior officials. It now houses the History and Ethnography Museum. The Malacca Free School opened near it in 1826. Painted red in 1911, the Stadthuys and adjacent Christ Church define Malacca's Dutch Square. At this point in the timeline (1650), no Dutch governor of Malacca is listed in this dataset for this date. Meanwhile, Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah III of Johor (1623 – 1677) ruled the Johor sultanate. Other contemporary rulers included Sultan Muzaffar Shah II of Perak (1636 – 1654) and Sultan Rijaluddin Muhammad Shah of Kedah (1626 – 1652).

## Why it matters
The Stadthuys remains the best-preserved symbol of Dutch Malacca and a centrepiece of Malacca's UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Ruler at the Time: [Abdul Jalil Shah III](https://allhistories.com/malaysia/rulers/abdul-jalil-shah-iii)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Stadthuys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadthuys)
- [UNESCO — Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1223)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Melaka](https://www.britannica.com/place/Melaka-Malaysia)