Singapore Heritage Trail

Recently, came across this article by Tommy Koh, the chairman of the Centre for International Law, NUS, and chairman of the National Heritage Board, and here are some historical places of interest in Singapore, which is great to get visitors started on an heritage trail of the city country.

1. Fort Canning:
When Prince Sang Nila Utama from Palembang founded Singapore in 1297, he built his palace on top of this hill, which was also an important location for the Japanese headquarters during WWII.

2. Eurasian Community House:
Located at 139 Ceylon Road, find out more about the history of Eurasian community that can be traced back to the Portuguese conquest of Malacca in 1511.

3. Statue of Raffles at Empress Place:
There are 2 statues of Raffles at Empress Place and at the Istana Kampong Glam at 85 Sultan's Gate. Taken together, they remind us of the remarkable story of how modern Singapore was founded by a young official of the British East India Company in 1891.

4. Istana at Kampong Glam:
The Istana, now the home of the Malay Heritage Centre, used to be the seat of Sultan Hussein Shah, and was built in 1840s.

5. Armenian Church of St Gregory in Armenian Street:
It is the oldest surviving Christian church in Singapore and designated a national monument.

6. Nanyang Memorial Hall:
Located at 12 Tai Gin Road, this building served as the residence for the man who overthrown the Qing dynasty, put an end to the rule of emperors, and founded the Republic of China - Sun Yat Sen.

7. Goodwood Park Hotel:
The significance of this hotel is that it was built in 1900 by the German residents of Singapore as their club house, the Teutonia Club. The British also used the premises to conduct war crime trials in 1947.

8. Ford Motor Works in Bukit Timah Road:
Ford used to assemble cars in this factory. The building is now a national monument, which houses a small museum on WWII and the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.

9. City Hall & Supreme Court:
The City Hall and the adjoining building, the old Supreme Court are loaded with history of Singapore. It was here that Mr LKY proclaimed Singapore's self government in 1959, its merger with Malaysia in 1963, and its independence in 1965.

10. Singapore Botanic Gardens:
Raffles started the first Botanic Gardens in 1822 in Fort Canning, which was then closed in 1829. The new Botanic Gardens was opened in 1859 in Napier Road, and just celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009.