Wayang Museum

Wayang Museum is a puppet museum located in Kota Tua, Pinangsia, Taman Sari, West Jakarta, Jakarta. Housed in a Neo-Renaissance building constructed in 1912 on the site of the Old Dutch Church built in 1640, it was inaugurated as a museum on 13 August 1975. It is notable for preserving more than 4,000 wayang puppets from Java, Bali, Lombok and other regions, plus masks, gamelan instruments and international puppets, showcasing Indonesia's UNESCO-recognized wayang heritage.

Visitors can expect a historic two-storey colonial building facing Fatahillah Square in Kota Tua. Inside are galleries displaying extensive collections of wayang kulit, wayang golek, wayang beber, wayang kardus and wayang rumput, along with masks, wayang paintings, gamelan instruments and puppets from Malaysia, Thailand, China, India and Europe. The museum includes dioramas, a former church gravestone display in the garden, periodic wayang-making demonstrations and puppet shows, and a quiet courtyard setting within the old town area.

The building stands on the site of the Old Dutch Church (De Oude Hollandsche Kerk) built in 1640. The current Neo-Renaissance structure was built in 1912 and initially functioned as a warehouse and later as part of the Old Dutch Church complex. It was restored and inaugurated as the Wayang Museum on 13 August 1975 by Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin to preserve and display Indonesia's wayang puppet heritage.

The museum is dedicated to wayang, the traditional Indonesian puppet theatre recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It preserves diverse regional wayang forms such as wayang kulit, wayang golek and wayang beber, along with masks and gamelan, serving as a centre for education and appreciation of Indonesian storytelling, craftsmanship and performing arts.