This is a focal point of Bandung’s architectural history. Gedung Sate is a building that has become synonymous with Bandung, for its image decorates many publications about the city and countless postcards. The name itself is of interest: the pointed structure on the building’s roof resembles sate, which is a local culinary delight similar to shish kebab. Completed in 1920, the building manifests the Dutch determination to keep the East Indies firmly under their control, with Bandung as the capital instead of Batavia (present-day Jakarta). Today, the provincial Governor of West Java, whose office is in the Gedung Sate, has more than twice as many subjects as the Queen of the Netherlands. Read More