Salatiga is a small town in Central Java, situated halfway between the cities of Semarang and Surakarta (Solo) at the foot of Merbabu mountain. The town lies at an altitude of 550 to 600 m above sea-level, and therefore its climate is less hot than that of both bigger cities.
According to the 2004 census Salatiga counts around 150.000 inhabitants. Of it’s 60 square kms two-thirds is hilly terrain and only ten percent is level. Therefore becak drivers have a hard time in Salatiga, and they only appeared here when they were ousted from Jakarta during Suharto’s reign.
Salatiga is best known for its university, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, founded in 1956 and now having an enrollment of over 10.000. The university offers
intensive Indonesian language courses for foreigners. There are several other educational institutions, among which an International School, so that Salatiga is seen as an ‘education town’. Many of its inhabitants make a living out of letting rooms to students. Salatiga is also called a ‘retirement town’, a good place to retire to from active life in Jakarta or another big city. A number of expats live in Salatiga, among them us, Theo and Helen.
The Dutch founded many plantations around Salatiga, mainly of coffee and rubber. See
Kampoeng Kopi Banaran and
How latex is won respectively. After independence they have gone through ups and downs, but recently they are doing well again, catering also for
wisata agro or agricultural tourism. See e.g.
Tlogo and Salib Putih accommodation tips.
But Salatiga has also entered the industrial era. The town counts two textile factories, Damatex and Timatex. And since 2005 a modern
foodstuff processing plant, allied to the Dutch brand Frisian Flag, has been operational on the site of a former diary factory.