Surabaya

Surabaya is a port city on the northeastern coast of Java, facing the Madura Strait across the mouth of the Mas River. Local folklore derives the name Surabaya from the mythical combat between a shark called sura and a crocodile called baya. The nation designates the locality as Kota Pahlawan, or the City of Heroes, commemorating the civil defense mounted during the national revolution.

The Heroes Monument honors fallen independence fighters with a soaring obelisk in the central district. The Suramadu Bridge links the provincial shoreline to neighboring Madura Island across the strait. The Monumen Kapal Selam displays the decommissioned Soviet-built submarine Pasopati along the banks of the Kalimas River. The House of Sampoerna preserves a Dutch colonial compound that presents antique clove cigarette fabrication equipment. The Al-Akbar Mosque welcomes worshipers beneath turquoise tiled domes and an illuminated observation minaret.

The Port of Tanjung Perak operates container freight terminals and inter-island passenger ferry berths connecting the eastern provinces of Indonesia. PT PAL Indonesia builds naval combat ships, guided-missile craft, and commercial bulk carriers along the deepwater harbor basin. PT Maspion manufactures aluminum cooking pots and electrical kitchen appliances, and PT Wismilak Inti Makmur produces hand-rolled clove cigarettes.

Raden Wijaya founded the river settlement following the military expulsion of invading Mongol troops in 1293. The coastal port flourished under the maritime kingdom of Majapahit before entering the Islamic trading sphere of the Demak Sultanate in the 16th century. The Dutch East India Company seized administrative control during the 18th century, turning the harbor into a fortified naval base. The Battle of Surabaya erupted in 1945 when local republican militias defended the city against British and Dutch forces, galvanizing international backing for Indonesian independence.