Dutch Indies country house

Dutch Indies country houses (known as landhuizen, landhuis or thuyen) are Dutch colonial country houses in the Dutch Indies, now Indonesia. Many country houses were built by the Dutch in its colonial settlements during the 18th century, such as Galle, Cape Town, and Curaçao, but none as solidly built and as grandeur as the Dutch colonial country houses of Batavia; much of Batavia's reputation as 'Queen of the East' rested on the grandeur of these 18th-century mansion.

Architecturally, in the beginning, they were conceived as replicas of the Dutch architecture. Later, the design include features from Javanese vernacular architecture, partly to response to the tropical climate. This distinctive type of architecture, fusion of Western and Javanese architecture, became known later as the Indies Style from the Dutch East Indies. The Indies Style is the first form of a fusion of Dutch and local architecture which gave rise to subsequent style of early Dutch Rationalist architecture in Indonesia. Despite the heritage of this structure and its protected status, many of the Indies country houses were left to deteriorate or completely demolished, often due to lack of maintenance management. Many of these houses were within the complex owned by the National Police, often transformed into a dormitory albeit with improper conservation method.

In 17th century Netherlands, increasing importance of Holland as a major maritime nation with a growing commercial empire overseas, particularly in the East, had generated capital for the merchant classes of Amsterdam. These increasingly wealthy merchants began to invest their profits in a second residence outside Amsterdam. This second residence, or landhuizen, ranged from modest rural retreats to luxurious manor houses, and typically seats along the river Amstel and Vecht. In Batavia, similar trend occurred in middle 18th century. When Batavia grew increasingly unhealthy during the 18th century, wealthy Dutch East India Company officials were the first to flee Batavia and build for themselves grand country houses in the surrounding countryside, typically situated between the rivers and roads that led into Batavia.

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