Surabaya is the capital of East Java (Jawa Timur) and is Indonesia's second-largest city, with a millennia-long history.
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, it was the largest city in the Dutch East Indies and the main port of the archipelago, competing with major ports such as Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The name Surabaya comes from the Javanese phrase "sura ing baya", meaning "facing danger in a brave way".
The colonial name of Surabaya was Soerajabaya, in the old Van Ophuijsen orthography where the digraph oe was used to write the letter u.
The city earned the nickname Kota Pahlawan (City of Heroes) after the national independence movement; the 1945 battle fought in the city against British forces was a catalyst for the independence movement.
Note: The objects illustrated in this article are part of the author's private collection.