Malacca Sultanate Palace Museum

The Melaka Sultanate Palace is a replica of the Melaka Sultan's palace during the period of the Melaka Sultanate. It is located at the foot of St Paul's Hill. The replica was built from information and data obtained from the Malay Annals. These historical documents had references to the construction and the architecture of palaces during the era of Sultan Mansur Syah, who ruled from 1456 to 1477.

The replica of the place was built in 1984 and it became Cultural Museum.The Cultural Museum was officially opened on 17th July 1968. The building is made of hardwood while the roof is made of  'belian' wood. An interesting feature of the buildings is there is no nails were used in the construction of the buildings,but only wooden pegs.

It was built to preserve the architectural style of the palace of the Malacca Sultanate ere and the various ceremonial and private chambers of palace such as the Balairong Seri (the Main Hall or Throne Room) and the Royal Bedchamber. The palace also exhibit artifacts pertaining to the custom and traditions of various royal houseolds that ruled Malacca.

It also built to preserve the posterity the period of the Malacca Sultanate which forms an integral part of the historical heritage of Malay race. Nevertheless,it is used to record the legendary battle of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat during the period of Malacca Sultanate,and the lessons that holds for posterity.

A Famosa

A Famosa,"The Famous" in Portuguese is a Portuguese fortress located in Malacca. It is among the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia. The Porta de Santiago, a small gate house, is the only remaining part of the fortress still standing.

In 1511, a Portuguese fleet arrived under the command of Afonso de Albuquerque. His forces attacked and defeated the armies of the Malacca Sultanate. Moving quickly to consolidate his gains, Albuquerque had the fortress built around a natural hill near the sea. Albuquerque believed that Malacca would become an important port linking Portugal to the Spice Route in China. At this time other Portuguese were establishing outposts in such places as Macau, China and Goa, India in order to create a string of friendly ports for ships heading to China and returning home to Portugal.

The fortress once consisted of long ramparts and four major towers. One was a four-story keep, while the others held an ammunition storage room, the residence of the captain, and an officers' quarters. Most of the village clustered in town houses inside the fortress walls. As Malacca's population expanded it outgrew the original fort and extensions were added around 1586.

The fort changed hands in 1641 when the Dutch drove the Portuguese out of Malacca. The Dutch renovated the gate in 1670, which explains the logo "ANNO 1670" inscribed on the gate's arch. Above the arch is a bas-relief logo of the Dutch East India Company.

The fortress changed hands again in the early 19th century when the Dutch handed it over to the British to prevent it from falling into the hands of Napoleon's expansionist France. The English were wary of maintaining the fortification and ordered its destruction in 1806. The fort was almost totally demolished but for the timely intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, who happened to visit Malacca in 1810. Because of his passion for history, this small gate was spared from destruction.

Baba And Nyonya Heritage Museum

Babas and Nyonya are Chinese of noble descendants that have adopted much of the Malay culture into theirs. They are also known as ‘Straits-born Chinese’ or ‘Peranakans’. Visitor to Melaka now can view their heritage at the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum (a private museum) run by the Babas and Nyonyas of Melaka.

The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum located at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, or better known as the Millionaire’s Row. This heritage was a residence built during the Dutch occupancy and bought by the Peranakans in Melaka. The design of these houses clearly shows the mixture of culture between the east and the west.

The house was built in 1896, the Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum presents the way of life of the Peranakans in Melaka at the end of the 19th century.

Visitors can see the beauty and uniqueness of the Baba-Nyonya traditional costume, antique furnitures and wood-work art. The western influence can also be seen clearly from the antique furnitures made in Italy, Britain and Dutch. Western influence did not end here as there are many more items in this museum, from Victorian-era chandelier to floor tiles, all has its own story to tell.