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Pontianak, Indonesia

Kota Pontianak
Kota Khatulistiwa
City
Other transcription(s)
 • Malay ڤونتيناك
Mal pontianak.jpg
Official seal of Kota Pontianak
Seal
Nickname(s): Equatorial City
Motto: Pontianak Bersinar
Kota Pontianak is located in Indonesia
Kota Pontianak
Kota Pontianak
Location of Pontianak in Indonesia
Coordinates: 0°0′N 109°20′E / 0.000°N 109.333°E / 0.000; 109.333
Country Indonesia
Province West Kalimantan
Established 23 October 1771
Government
 • Mayor Sutarmidji, SH, MHum
Area
 • Total 107.82 km2 (41.63 sq mi)
Elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Population (2014)
 • Total 573,751
 • Density 5,300/km2 (14,000/sq mi)
Time zone WIB (UTC+7)
Area code(s) +62 561
Vehicle registration KB
Website www.pontianakkota.go.id

Kota Pontianak is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded by Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie as a capital of Sultanate of Kadriyah ( Kesultanan Kadriyah ) in 23 Oktober 1771 / 24 Rajab 1181 Hijriah. Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie developed Pontianak as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 107.82 km² in the delta of the Kapuas River. It is located precisely on the equator, hence it is widely known as Kota Khatulistiwa (Equatorial City). The city center is actually less than 3 kilometres (2 mi) south of the equator.

The city was formerly the capital of the independent Sultanate of Pontianak and was founded on 23 October 1771 around an old trading station on the Borneo coast. It is built on swampy ground that is subjected to regular flooding by the river, requiring buildings to be constructed on piles to keep them off the ground. Pontianak name refers to a story about ghosts that people in West Kalimantan refers to as Pontianak (a ferocious female ghost in Malay), it was a ghosts nest until Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie and his Army fought and extruded ghosts who attacked his group. then, He build a Mosque and a palace, exactly on the location of the ghosts nest, and settled. The Mosque and The palace is become the first building in Pontianak City

The history of the city of Pontianak written by a Dutch historian, V.J. Verth in his book Borneos Afdeling Wester, whose content is slightly different from the version of the stories circulating in the community today.

According to him, the Dutch started to go to Pontianak in 1773 from Batavia. Verth wrote that Syarif Abdurrahman, son of Sharif Hussein bin Ahmed cleric Alqadrie (or in another version called Al Habib Husin), leaving the kingdom Mempawah and began to wander. In the region of Banjarmasin, he married the sister of the Sultan of Banjar Sunan Nata Nature and sworn in as the Prince. He was successful in commerce and accumulate enough capital to arm ships and boats Pencalang lancangnya, then he started to take the fight against Dutch colonialism.

With the help of Sultan Sand, Syarif Abdurrahman then successfully hijack Dutch ship near Bangka, also British and French ships in the port of Pasir. Abdurrahman became a rich man and then tried to establish a settlement on an island in the Kapuas River. He found branching Porcupine River and then to develop the area into a prosperous trading center. This is the region that is now called Pontianak.


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Wikipedia

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