The minaret
A lighthouse-like brick tower, about 24 m.
Finance Ministry of the Republic of Indonesia — Public domain · Arif Permana Putra — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tito Tri Kadafi — CC BY 4.0 · Arif Permana Putra — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arif Permana Putra — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Great Mosque of Banten (Masjid Agung Banten) is the centrepiece of Banten Lama, the remains of the Banten sultanate's port capital, about 10 km north of Serang. One of Indonesia's oldest mosques, it dates from the mid-16th century, often given as 1556 under Maulana Hasanuddin, Banten's first sultan, and is still in daily use, with room for about 2,000 worshippers. The prayer hall is Javanese in style, under a five-tiered roof whose three upper tiers recall a Chinese pagoda. The complex mirrors Banten's past as a great pepper port: the brick minaret on an octagonal base, about 24 m high by most accounts, resembles a lighthouse and is often credited to a Chinese builder, though some accounts name Hendrik Lucaasz Cardeel, a Dutch convert to Islam. Cardeel is also credited with the tiyamah, a two-storey Dutch-style hall beside the mosque. Inside, the hall is plain, with no calligraphy, and its pillars rest on bases carved with lotus motifs. Most visitors come for the sultans' tombs, among them Maulana Hasanuddin's and Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa's; at busy times pilgrims enter the grave area in turns. Giant umbrellas open over the paved courtyard, recalling those of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. Banten Lama lies about 76 km west of central Jakarta as the crow flies, or 1.5 to 2 hours by car on the Jakarta–Merak toll road. The site museum is a short walk away; the Surosowan palace ruins lie about 300 m south-east, and Fort Speelwijk stands about 700 m north-west, facing the Avalokitesvara temple, one of Indonesia's oldest Chinese temples.
A lighthouse-like brick tower, about 24 m.
A Dutch-style hall beside the mosque.
Hasanuddin and Ageng Tirtayasa lie here.
Jalan Masjid Agung Banten, Banten Lama, Kasemen district, Serang
Yes: commuter trains between Rangkasbitung and Merak stop at Karangantu station, also called Banten Lama station, about a kilometre from the mosque. From Jakarta, take the commuter line from Tanah Abang to Rangkasbitung and change there.
A Dutch builder who came to Banten in 1675, after a fire at Surosowan palace, embraced Islam and rebuilt parts of the palace for Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa. Sultan Haji later gave him the title Pangeran Wiraguna.