Depok, West Java Province, Java, Indonesia

🇮🇩 Depok is a landlocked city in West Java province, and located within Jakarta metropolitan area in Indonesia. It has an area of 200.29 km². It had a density of 10,267 people per km². Depok was declared as a separate city on 20 April 1999, having previously been part of Bogor Regency.

History Depok word is an acronym of De Eerste Protestantse Organisatie van Christenen (Indonesian: Organisasi Kristen Protestan Pertama, English: First Protestant Christian Organization). There is also a saying that the word "depok" itself comes from Sundanese meaning hermitage or abode of one living in seclusion.

On 18 May 1696, a former VOC officer Cornelis Chastelein bought the land with an area of 12.44 km², 6.2% the area of today's Depok. Besides cultivating the area with industrial plants with the help of the locals, Chastelein was active as a missionary, preaching Christianity to the indigenous Indonesians. To this end, he established a local congregation named De Eerste Protestante Organisatie van Christenen (DEPOC). Although the Sundanese name Depok, meaning hermitage or abode of one living in seclusion, was already in existence before the establishment of the congregation, some insist the acronym might have been the origin of the city's name. Today the majority of Depok's population are adherent of Islam, except for the majority of the original Depok family.

Before his death on 28 June 1714, Chastelein had written a will that freed the slave families of Depok and gave them pieces of his land, converting slaves into landlords. In 1714, the 12 slave families became landlords (forever as given to them with entitlement deeds of the owner Chastelien in his will) and freed men, women, and children. The freed slaves are also referred to as the Mardijker's – the word Merdeka meaning freedom in Bahasa Indonesia. June 28 is designated as Depokse Daag (Depok Day) by the original Depok family, and on 28 June 2014, commemorating 300 years, they formally opened a 3-meter height monument on its own land, but it was prohibited by the Government as it referred to Dutch colonialization.

The 12 original Depok family names are: • Bacas • Isakh • Jacob • Jonathans • Joseph • Laurens • Leander • Loen • Sadokh • Samuel • Soedira • Tholense.

The original slave families of Depok are of Balinese, Ambonese, Buginese, Sundanese and Portuguese Indo, i.e., Mestizo and Mardijker descent. Isakh, Jacob, Jonathans, Joseph, and Samuel were family names baptized by Chastelein after the slave families converted to Protestant Christianity. The other families retained their original names and might have been (Roman Catholic) Christian already before joining Chastelein's Protestant church. Descendants of the original Depok families with the exception of the Sadokh family, still live in Indonesia, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada and the United States.

In 1871, the colonial government gave Depok a special status allowing the area to form its own government and president. The ruling no longer stood after 1952, where the Depok presidency ceded its control of Depok to the Indonesian government except for a few areas.

During the Bersiap (Indonesian civil war and war for independence from The Netherlands) period of 1945 much of Depok was destroyed and many of its inhabitants killed by 'Pemuda'. Many of the original Depok families fled for their lives from Indonesia during the Indonesian revolution and now live in the Netherlands as part of the Indo community there.

In March 1982, Depok was reclassified as an administrative city within Bogor Regency and, in 1999, as a city headed by a mayor. Then on 20 April 1999, the city of Depok was unified with some neighbouring districts of Bogor Regency to form an autonomous city of Depok (independent of the Regency) with an area of 200.29 km². This date is commemorated as the date of the establishment of the city.

Districts The city of Depok is divided into eleven districts (kecamatan).

Sawangan; Bojongsari; Pancoran Mas; Cipayung; Sukmajaya; Cilodong; Cimanggis; Tapos; Beji; Limo; Cinere.

Shopping and dining Depok has a growing eclectic collection of malls and traditional markets. Older malls or other notable shopping centres include D'mall Depok, Ciplaz Depok, and SixtyOne Building, and ITC Depok. Depok has many local restaurants and has wide presence of international chains such as A&W Restaurant, Burger King, CFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Domino's Pizza, Subway, Wendy's, Carl's Jr., Wingstop, Popeyes, Krispy Kreme, J.CO Donuts, BreadTalk, Yoshinoya, Marugame Udon, HokBen, Chatime, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Baskin Robbins, Dairy Queen, and Dunkin Donuts.

Modern-day landmarks that were once known as Depok's primary shopping centres include Ramanda (now an autoshop plus education centre), Hero Supermarket (now Index Home Furnishings) etc.

There are many shopping centres in Depok, such as: • ITC Depok (anchor tenant: Carrefour) • Depok Town Square — commonly referred to as DeTos (anchor tenant: Matahari and Hypermart) • Margo City (anchor tenants: Centro, Farmers Market, Electronic City) • Pesona Square (anchor tenants: Centro, Hypermart, Ace Hardware) • D'mall Depok (anchor tenant: Electronic Solution) • Depok Town Center • City Plaza Depok • Cinere Mall • Cinere Bellevue Mall • Cimanggis Square • Trans Studio Mall Cibubur (anchor tenants: Metro and Transmart) • The Park Sawangan shopping mall.

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 Cisalak, and Pasar Majapahit.

Parks Alun Alun Depok or Depok Square is equipped with various sports facilities such as a basketball court, futsal, skateboard, wall climbing, BMX arena, children's playground, fish pond, fountain, and others. Godongijo Conservation and Education Park is located in Depok. The park provides children and teachers alike the ability to get up close and personal with nature. There are also other children's amusement parks in the city such as Depok Fantasi Waterpark, Taman Pemuda Pratama, and Pondok Zidane.

Education The following universities are in Depok: • University of Indonesia • Universitas Gunadarma [id] • Politeknik Tugu [id] • Jakarta State Polytechnic • Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Terpadu Nurul Fikri [id] • Muhammadiyah University of Depok • Bina Sarana Informatika [id].

Depok has several private language schools, namely EF English First, Kinderfield Highfield Depok, International Language Programs (ILP), Lembaga Indonesia Amerika (LIA), The British Institute (TBI), Lembaga Pendidikan Indonesia - Amerika (LPIA), and several other smaller establishments. These are all along Margonda Raya and Cinere Raya, the two main roads that pass through Depok. In Depok City itself, for Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) there are around[weasel words] 72 schools.

Sport Depok is the home town of the Persikad Depok and Depok United FC football team who currently plays in the Liga 2.

Transport 13 Jagorawi Toll Road Cibubur, Cikeas, Cileungsi, Jonggol; 28 Jakarta Outer Ring Road Pasar Minggu, Lenteng Agung; 16 Cinere-Jagorawi Toll Road Cisalak, Juanda, Margonda; 13 Depok–Antasari Toll Road Sawangan, Parung, Ciputat, Serpong, Billabong, Bogor.

Transport: Public Angkot is the major means of public transportation in Depok. Go-Jek and Grab and taxicabs are easily available. Depok is connected to other areas of greater Jakarta by commuter train, TransJakarta & Kopaja buses. Depok Lama, Depok Baru Station, Universitas Indonesia Station, Pondok Cina Station and Citayam Station of KRL Jabodetabek commuter train service located within Depok. Commuter train is widely used to travel to Jakarta city centre and other parts of Greater Jakarta, but is very crowded during peak hours.

Transport: Air Depok is served by Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport. Meanwhile Pondok Cabe Airport is located at South Tangerang in borders with Depok, but doesn't have regular scheduled air service.