The city remained under Dutch control until 1942 when the Japanese invaded and ruled over Indonesia.Īfter Indonesia proclaimed its freedom in 1945, Pematangsiantar was granted autonomous status. In 1907, the Dutch took control, turning Pematangsiantar into their colony. The last independent king of the dynasty was Tuan Sangnawaluh Damanik.

Damanik is one of the clans of the Simalungun ethnic group of the Batak people. The motto of this city is Sapangambei Manoktok Hitei which comes from the Simalungun language which means working together to achieve a noble goal.īefore 1907, Pematangsiantar was a Kingdom led by the Damanik. The trade, hotel and restaurant sector followed in second place, with a contribution of 22.77% or Rp385 billion. Of the total economic activities in 2000 Pematangsiantar reached a GDP Rp1.69 trillion, with the industrial market share making up 38.18% or Rp646 billion. The industrial sector is the backbone of the city's economy, due to its central location in Simalungun Regency, and consists of medium to large industrial sites. In 1996, because of orderly traffic control, the city also won the Wahana Tata Nugraha Cup award. The city received the Adipura Cup in 1993 for its cleanliness and environmental sustainability. There are still many old (1950s) model English manufactured Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) motorcycles with a capacity of 500 cc used as Auto rickshaws which are recognized by their distinctive loud sound. As a city that supports tourism in the surrounding area, the city has 8 hotels, 10 budget hotels and 268 restaurants.

Pematangsiantar is 128 km from Medan and 50 km from the renowned Lake Toba tourist centre of Parapat, and is often a transit city for tourists who want to travel to Lake Toba and Central Tapanuli Regency.

The official estimate as at mid 2022 was 274,056, making it the second largest city in the province after the provincial capital of Medan. Its population was 229,525 in the 2005 Intermediate Census, 234,698 in the 2010 Census, 247,219 in the 2015 Intermediate Census, and 268,254 at the 2020 Census. Pematangsiantar formerly had the status of a second level district ( daerah tingkat dua) and was the administrative centre of the surrounding Regency, but in 1986 it was elevated to Kota (City) and separated from the Regency. Siantar, colloquially just Siantar), and also known as the City of Pematangsiantar, is an independent city in North Sumatra, Indonesia, surrounded by, but not part of, the Simalungun Regency, making Pematangsiantar an enclave within Simalungun Regency. Pematangsiantar (sometimes written as Pematang Siantar, acronym PS or P.

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