Merdeka Square, Jakarta in the context of "Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta"

The National Monument (Indonesian: Monumen Nasional, abbreviated Monas) is a 132 m (433 ft) obelisk in the centre of Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta. It is the national monument of the Republic of Indonesia, built to commemorate the struggle for Indonesian independence. This monument is crowned with a flame covered in gold leaf which symbolizes the burning spirit of struggle of the Indonesian people.

Construction began in 1961 under the direction of President Sukarno, and the monument was opened to the public in 1975. The monument and the museum are open daily from 08:00 to 16:00 Western Indonesia Time (UTC+7) throughout the week except for Mondays when the monument is closed. Since April 2016, the monument is also open during night time, from 19:00 to 22:00 on Tuesdays to Fridays, and from 19:00 to 00:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Merdeka Palace (Indonesian: Istana Merdeka; also known in Indonesian as Istana Gambir and during the Dutch colonial times as Paleis te Koningsplein), is one of seven presidential palaces in Indonesia. It is located on the north side of the Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta, Indonesia, and was used as the official residence of the president of the Republic of Indonesia.

The palace was a residence for the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies during the colonial era. In 1949, the palace was renamed Merdeka Palace, "(ke)merdeka(an)" meaning "freedom" or "independence".

Jakarta Cathedral (Indonesian: Gereja Katedral Jakarta, Dutch: Kathedraal van Jakarta) is a Latin Catholic cathedral in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is also the seat of the Archbishop of Jakarta, currently Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo. Its official name is Gereja Santa Maria Diangkat ke Surga, derived from the original name in Dutch, De Kerk van Onze Lieve Vrouwe ten Hemelopneming (English: The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption). This current cathedral was consecrated in 1901 and built in the neo-Gothic style, a common architectural style to build churches at that time. The Jakarta Cathedral is located in Central Jakarta near Merdeka Square and Merdeka Palace. The Istiqlal Mosque is located next to the cathedral.

The capital of Indonesia, officially the capital of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Ibukota Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia), is Jakarta, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Southeast Asia. Jakarta, previously known as Batavia, was the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies. In the early 20th century, the Dutch East Indies government attempted to relocate the capital from Batavia to Bandung. During Indonesia's struggle for independence, the Indonesian government moved the capital to Yogyakarta and then to Bukittinggi, where it remained for a short time until the restoration of control to Jakarta. In 2019, during his annual state of the union address at the parliament, President Joko Widodo announced a plan to relocate the capital to Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. As part of the plan, part of Kutai Kartanegara Regency and Penajam North Paser Regency in East Kalimantan will be carved out to create a new province-level planned city, and the capital will be relocated to a more central location within Indonesia. On 17 January 2022, the name was revealed to be Nusantara.

The plan is part of a strategy to reduce developmental inequality between Java and other islands in the Indonesian archipelago and to reduce Jakarta's burden as Indonesia's primary hub. In August 2019, the government announced that while the capital will be moved, $40 billion will be spent on saving Jakarta from sinking in the next decade.