T.B. Silalahi Museum (also called T.B. Silalahi Center) is a museum complex built and owned by General T.B. Silahali. The complex has two museums and a restaurant. The first museum is on Batak history and culture, and the second is about the general himself. It is on Jalan Pagar Batu, Balige, Toba Samosir, about 30 minutes from Sisingamangaraja XII International Airport. To see it on the map, click here.
What’s Special
T.B. Silalahi Museum is the biggest Batak museum in the world. There approximately 1,000 collections of Batak cultural artifacts and historical relics inside T.B. Silalahi Museum. These come from 6 Batak sub-tribes, namely: Karo, Toba, Simalungun, Pakpak, Angkola, and Mandailing. They also include various forms of relics including weapons, clothes, household equipment, arts and crafts from each sub-tribe. Examples of weapons are hujur (spear), podang (sword), piso (knife), sior (arrow and bow), ultop (chopsticks), and bodi (rifle). The collections are as follows: indoor: 1,010 items, outdoor: 49 items.
The second museum is called Footprints of T.B. Silalahi. It has the following compilations: indoor: 2,648 items, outdoor: 5 items. They showcase the military and public life of the general. He once served as the Minister of Administrative Reform to President Suharto (1993-1998).
What to Enjoy
Visitors can view museum collections, learn about Batak history and culture, enjoy the lake view from inside the museum, see art and cultural performances, and take pictures.
What to Expect
There are a cafeteria and a sky restaurant that serves traditional and modern cuisine. Museum opening hours: Monday – Friday: 08 am – 5 pm; Saturday – Sunday: 8 am- 6 pm; National holidays: 8 am- 6 pm.
Entrance fees: Adult: Rp 20,000 ($1.50); Children: Rp 10,000 ($0.8); Foreign tourists: Rp 50,000 ($4).
What Visitors Say
“If you want to know sbout batak’s history, come to this place & its organized with good view” Budi Rahayu (Source)
“Entry fee is just 20k idr for teenager, 10k for children. Lots of things inside there.” Edi Setiawan (Source)
“Vast, unique, clean and neat” westlife viva (Source)
“Actually there are many more places in this museum that attract visitors. This becomes the basis for the museum’s management to provide something interesting for visitors. So if you have time, let’s take a walk to the TB Silalahi Center Museum. Besides refreshing our brains, it is also to increase our historical knowledge.” kiponamura (Source)
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