Bandung

The official name of the city during the colonial Dutch East Indies period was Bandoeng. The earliest reference to the area dates back to 1488, although archaeological findings suggest a type of Homo erectus species had long previously lived on the banks of the Cikapundung River and around the old lake of Bandung. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) established plantations in the Bandung area. In 1786, a supply road connecting Batavia (now Jakarta), Bogor, Cianjur, Bandung, Sumedang and Cirebon was constructed. In 1809, Napoleon ordered Governor Herman Willem Daendels to improve the defensive systems of Java to protect against a possible British invasion. Daendels ordered the construction of a road stretching approximately 1,000 km (620 mi) from the west to the east coast of Java, passing through Bandung. …

Bandung, the capital of West Java province, is located about 180 kilometres (110 mi) southeast of Jakarta. Its elevation is 768 metres (2,520 ft) above sea level and is surrounded by up to 2,400 metres (7,900 feet) high Late Tertiary and Quaternary volcanic terrain. The 400 km2 (150 sq mi) flat of central Bandung plain is situated in the middle of 2,340.88 square kilometres (903.82 sq mi) wide of the Bandung Basin; the basin comprises Bandung, the Cimahi city, part of Bandung Regency, part of West Bandung Regency, and part of Sumedang Regency. The basin's main river is the Citarum; one of its branches, the Cikapundung, divides Bandung from north to south before it merges with Citarum again in Dayeuhkolot. The Bandung Basin is an essential source of water for potable water, irrigation, and fisheries, with its 6,147 million m3 (217. …

Bandung is a significant cultural hub in Indonesia. Most people in the surrounding province of West Java are ethnically Sundanese, with Sundanese often spoken as a first language, and the standard and informal language for communication in streets, school, work, and markets. As in the rest of the country, standard Indonesian serves as the lingua franca and primary language of government, business, media, and formal education. Bandung is one of the cities in Indonesia with a rich musical history, known for traditional instruments such as the Angklung, Suling, and Kacapi, which are commonly used in Tembang Sunda. Since the Dutch colonial era, Bandung has been the center of music in Indonesia. Bandung has notable UNESCO with creative cities with specially music band is majority founded over there. …

The city's economy is mainly built upon tourism, business, creative industry, high-tech and manufacturing industries, educational institutions, technology, retail services, financial services, pharmaceutical companies, and food production. The once quiet residential district of Dago has become an important business and entertainment centre with chic cafés and restaurants spread out along Jalan Dago. In the early 1990s, Jalan Cihampelas became a popular clothing store location and remains so today. Some important shopping malls of the city which are Trans Studio Mall Bandung, Summarecon Mall Bandung, Bandung Indah Plaza, Cihampelas Walk, Paris Van Java Mall, and 23 Paskal Shopping Center are among the popular shopping centres in Bandung. Creative culture has shaped specific parts of the city's economy. …

Traditionally, Bandung's population is of Sundanese descent. Javanese are the most significant ethnic Indonesian minority and mostly come from the central and the eastern parts of Java. Other minorities include Minang, Minahasan, Chinese, Batak, Malay, Korean, Indian, and Arabs. Bandung's population are mainly Muslims but small communities of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists also exist in the city. In 2005, the population of Bandung was 2.29 million people with a density of 13,690/km2 (35,457/sq mi). The May 2010 census enumerated 2.395 million people and that of May 2020 enumerated 2.444 million. Based on data from Statistics Indonesia, the population of Bandung in mid 2023 was 2,506,603 (comprising 1,259,236 males and 1,247,367 females), making Bandung the third-most populous city in Indonesia.