Jayapura
—  City  —
Jayapura Location of the town in Papua
Jayapura Location of the town in Indonesia
Coordinates: 2°31′58.8″S 140°43′1.2″E / 2.533°S 140.717°E / -2.533; 140.717
Country	Indonesia
Province	Papua
Regency
Government
• Mayor	Drs.Tommy Benhur Mano,MM
Population (2002)
• City	200,000
• Metro	2,000,000
Time zone	WIT (UTC+9)

Jayapura city

Jayapura at night

A workers' mural in Jayapura, Indonesia

Jayapura City (Indonesian: Kota Jayapura) is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay (formerly known as Humboldt Bay). Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000.

Name[link]

From 1910 to 1962, the city was known as Hollandia and was the capital of a district of the same name in the northeast of West New Guinea. It was briefly called Kota Baru and Sukarnopura before assuming its present name in 1968. The literal meaning of Jayapura, as of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India, is 'City of Victory' (Sanskrit jaya: "victory"; pura: "city").

History[link]

The northern part of Dutch New Guinea was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942. Allied forces drove out the Japanese after amphibious landings near Hollandia, from 21 April 1944. The area served as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters until the conquest of the Philippines in March 1945. Over twenty U.S. bases were established and half a million US personnel moved through the area.^[1]

In 1945, the Dutch made Hollandia the capital of Netherlands New Guinea. After the territory was handed over to the United Nations, on 1 October 1962, the city became known by the Indonesian name Kota Baru, and retained the name when Indonesia took control, on 1 May 1963. The city was briefly renamed Sukarnopura, after President Sukarno, until the end of 1968, when it acquired its present name.

Jayapura was struck by the Aitape Tsunami after the 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake.^[2]

Religious history[link]

On 12 May 1949, the Apostolic Prefecture of Hollandia was established in the city. In 1963, it was renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Kota Baru. In 1964, it was again renamed as the Apostolic Vicariate of Sukarnapura. It was promoted in 1966 as the Diocese of Sukarnapura, renamed in 1969 as the Diocese of Djajapura, and finally renamed in 1973 as the Diocese of Jayapura.

Sport[link]

Jayapura is the home of the Persipura, a professional football club that has produced many famous Indonesian footballers and have won the Indonesia Super League once in the 2008–09 season. Persipura plays its home matches in the Mandala Stadium.

Sister cities[link]

San Jose, Costa Rica

See also[link]

Indonesia portal

• Cenderawasih University
• Sentani Airport

References[link]

1. ^ "Jayapura". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/301932/Jayapura. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
2. ^ "The Impact of the 1998 Aitape Tsunami at Jayapura, Indonesia". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/PNG/Upng/N_joku020402/nj_poster.pdf. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 

External links[link]

• A small tour of Jayapura^{[dead link]}
• Expat Living in Jayapura, Irian Jaya
• Jayapura City Tourism - Papua Indonesia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jayapura

Coordinates: 2°31′59″S 140°43′01″E / 2.533°S 140.717°E / -2.533; 140.717

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