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Malacca City is the capital of the Malaysian state of Malacca and the oldest Malaysian city on the Strait of Malacca. Its old centre, a World Heritage Site, is known for the Portuguese gate of A Famosa, the red Dutch Stadthuys and Christ Church, the Chinatown of Jonker Walk and the country's oldest temple, Cheng Hoon Teng.
The city was founded in 1396 by Parameswara, a Sumatran prince, and became a rich entrepot under the Malacca Sultanate, drawing traders from the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia. Portugal conquered it in 1511, the Dutch took it in 1641 with help from Johor, and it passed to the British under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824.
The Malacca River, once a vital trade route, flows through the heart of the city, now lined with river walkways and restored buildings. Beyond the old town are the floating Malacca Straits Mosque and the seaside Portuguese Settlement, home of the Kristang community.
A Famosa was a Portuguese fortress built in Malacca around 1512, whose five-storey keep gave the whole fort its name, meaning The Famous. The Dutch expanded its walls after 1641 and the British destroyed it in 1811, leaving only the Porta de Santiago gateway and the rebuilt Middelburg Bastion.
St Paul's Church on the summit of St Paul's Hill in Malacca City was first built from 1566 to 1590 and is the oldest European building east of India. The oldest surviving church building in Southeast Asia, it still hosts a mass each December for the feast day of St Francis Xavier.
Christ Church in Malacca City was built by the Dutch burgher community from 1741 to 1753 to mark a century since they took Malacca from the Portuguese. Originally Dutch Reformed and now Anglican, it is the oldest functioning Protestant church in Malaysia and stands by the Stadthuys.
The Stadthuys in Malacca City was built by the Dutch in 1650 as the office of the Dutch governor and his deputy, and is known for its red walls and the red clock tower beside it on Red Square. The British later used it for offices and the post office, and it now houses a history museum.
Jonker Walk is the Chinatown of Malacca City, along Jonker Street across the river from the Stadthuys, lined with historic houses dating back to the 17th century. Many sell antiques, textiles, food and crafts, and the street becomes a night market every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cheng Hoon Teng, the Temple of Green Cloud, on Jalan Tokong in Malacca City is the oldest functioning temple in the country, founded by the Chinese Kapitan Tay Kie Ki in 1645 under Dutch rule. It practises Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, and its main hall was added in 1704.
Kampung Kling Mosque in Malacca City was built by Indian Muslim traders in 1748 and rebuilt in brick in 1872, and is one of the oldest mosques on the Malay Peninsula. Its pagoda-like minaret and mix of Sumatran, Chinese, Hindu and Malay design stand on Harmony Street near two temples.
Bukit China, or Chinese Hill, in Malacca City was by local tradition a gift from Sultan Mansur Shah to Hang Li Po, a princess sent from China in the 15th century. With a neighbouring hill it forms a graveyard of over 12,000 Chinese graves, said to be the largest outside China.
The Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum at the foot of St Paul's Hill in Malacca City is a wooden reconstruction of the sultan's palace based on the Malay Annals, built without nails from 1984 to 1986. Its eight chambers and three galleries display about 1,350 items from the sultanate era.
The Malacca River was a vital trade route in the 15th-century heyday of the Malacca Sultanate and flows through the middle of Malacca City, a World Heritage Site. A RM350 million project has restored its old buildings and bridges and given its banks river walkways and a tidal barrage.
The Malacca Straits Mosque stands on the artificial Malacca Island in Malacca City and was inaugurated on 24 November 2006 by the King of Malaysia. Built with Middle Eastern and Malay craftsmanship, it seems to float at high water, and its 30 m minaret doubles as a lighthouse.
The Portuguese Settlement in Ujong Pasir, Malacca City, is home to the Kristang, the Portuguese-Eurasian people of Malacca, who trace their descent to Portuguese rule from 1511 to 1641. Missionaries laid its foundation stone in 1926 by the sea, as most of its people were fishermen.
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