The Stadthuys

Introduction

The Stadthuys was built between 1641 and 1660 on the ruins of a fort which belongs to the Portuguese. It is believed that the Stadthuys is the oldest Dutch building in the East. This massive red building displays all the common features of the Dutch colonial architecture which includes substantial solid doors and louvered windows. Since its completion to 1980, the Stadthuys was used as the administrative center of successive governments for a period of 300 years. It was in 1982 when the Stadthuys was converted into a history museum which exhibits Malacca's history starting from the great Malay Sultanate and the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonization till the present day.