Exploring Bali's History at the Bali Museum: The Oldest Cultural Collection in Denpasar

Museum Bali is a legendary museum that many people pass by every day without realizing it. It is located on Jalan Mayor Wisnu, just east of Puputan Badung Field and south of Pura Jagatnatha. The museum was inaugurated on December 8, 1932, under the name Bali Museum and is managed by the Bali Museum Foundation.

Covering an area of 2,600 square meters, this museum is the oldest in Bali and has inspired the establishment of other museums. Based on its collections, the Bali Museum is an ethnographic museum that houses and displays cultural artifacts from prehistoric times to the present, reflecting all aspects of Balinese culture. Its collections include archaeological, historical, fine art, and ethnographic items.

If you want to learn about the history of Balinese cultural heritage, this museum is the perfect place to visit. You can see collections such as traditional dance costumes, various types of masks, wayang (puppets), keris (daggers), and a range of prehistoric artifacts that help you understand Balinese culture.

Initially established as an ethnographic museum by W.F.J. Kroon, the assistant resident for South Bali, in 1910, the museum was created to protect and preserve cultural artifacts. This idea was based on a proposal by Th.A. Resink and received positive responses from scholars, artists, cultural figures, and all the kings in Bali. Kroon then commissioned Kurt Gundler, a German architect in Bali, to collaborate with traditional Balinese builders (undagi) like I Gusti Ketut Rai and I Gusti Ketut Gede Kandel to plan the museum’s construction.

One of the unique features of this museum is its architecture, which adopts local culture based on the lontar (palm leaf manuscript) Asta Kosala-Kosali. The museum has three courtyards: the outer courtyard (jaba), the middle courtyard (jaba tengah), and the inner courtyard (jeroan), each separated by walls and gates (candi bentar and candi kurung) as entrances. There is also a Balai Kulkul (bell tower) in the southern part of the middle courtyard.

In the northwest corner stands a Balai Bengong, which was used during the royal era as a resting place for the royal family to observe the surroundings. In front of the Tabanan building, there is a Beji (bathing place for the royal family). The roofs are made of ijuk (coconut fiber), a material traditionally used only for temples in Bali. The inner courtyard features three main buildings to exhibit the museum's collections:

1. Gedung Karangasem: with traditional East Bali architecture, showcasing Panca Yadnya collections.
2. Gedung Tabanan: for displaying prehistoric, historical, and fine art collections.
3. Gedung Buleleng: featuring North Bali architectural style, dedicated to traditional textile collections.