The Sultanate of Ternate � Ternate History Tour

The Sultanate of Ternate is one of Ternate historical building in Ternate City, North Maluku province. In this palace, tourists can find various heritage of Ternate Sultanate.

The Sultanate of Ternate Memorial Museum is a history museum for the collections on display are objects belonging to Ternate Sultanate and war relics at the time of the arrival of the Europeans in Maluku and North Maluku in the 15th century.

This octagonal-shaped museum was built in 1813 by an architect from China. It is located in Limau Hill with a shape resembling a lion that is sitting propped with both forefeet facing the sea and backdrop of Mount Gamalama. This is where the history of the government of Ternate Sultanate first started until it reaches its glory and then taken away by colonial nations.

Among the collection of various relics of European nations, the museum also has a unique and sacred crown that no other castle in Indonesia has, even in the world. It is because this crown has hair that can grow like human beings so that it becomes an obligation to perform a ritual called �istampa� or crown hair cutting annually, every Eid al-Adha. The crown is estimated to have been living 500 years since the first sultan reigned.

Here, tourists will find various collections of objects ranging from geology, archaeology, ethnography, history, numismatics / heraldic, philology, technology, fine arts, to ceramics. To visit this place, visitors are free of charge.

This museum was built on 24 November 1813 by Sultan Muhammad Ali with an area of 1500 m� on a land area of 1.5 ha. In 1981, the management of the building was handed over to the Ministry of Education and Culture although in daily life it is still used as a residence of the Sultan. This place was inaugurated in 1982 by the Minister of Culture at the time, David Joesoef.

You can go around the museum to enjoy a variety of heritage objects of the Sultanate and European settlers here. Facilities available are permanent exhibition and at the same time for collection storage. There is a magnificent golden throne of Sultan Ternate displayed in this museum. In addition, you can also see the equipments for ceremonies and sultanate events.

Inside the palace, you can see the relics belonging to the sultanate which are typical and have historical value, such as the crown and the Quran in the oldest handwriting in Indonesia, and many war equipment. You can also observe the sultan crown with a number of gemstones, gold, silver, diamonds, mira diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. In local language, Ternate indigenous people call the crown �stampa�.

In front of the palace, there are Sunyie Ici field and Sunyie Lamo that are usually used for ceremonial processions.

Ternate influences as a kingdom with a long history are still felt. Ternate has a large contribution in the eastern part of Indonesian culture, especially Sulawesi (north and east coast) and Maluku. The influences include religion, customs and language. Sultanate government and the implementation of Islamic law which was first introduced by Sultan Zainal Abidin later became the standard that is followed by all the kingdoms in Maluku.

Besides, the success of the people of Ternate under the Sultan Baabullah in ousting the Portuguese in 1575 was the first victory of the native Indonesian on the Western powers. Ternate's victory has postponed Western colonialism in Indonesia for 100 years, at the same time strengthen the position of Islam in Eastern Indonesia.

To reach Ternate Sultanate Palace Memorial Museum is very easy. From Sultan Baabullah airport, a trip to the museum is as far as 3.5 km. From Port Ahmad Yani, the distance is about 1.5 km. If you go via Gamalama Station, the distance is only about 0.5 km.

The Sultanate of Ternate - Open Hour:

Monday s / d Tuesday: 09:00 to 17:00 local time
Saturday: 9:00 to 3:00 p.m. local time
Sunday: 09:00 to 13:00 local time