Pontianak, Indonesia

- 0.016666666666667109.33333333333Koordinaten: 0 ° 1 ' S, 109 ° 20 ' E

Pontianak (Chinese: Khuntien ) is an Indonesian city on the island of Borneo. It is the capital of the province of Kalimantan Barat (West Borneo) and has approximately 517,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the southwest of the island, at the mouth of the River Kapuas, exactly on the equator. It has an airport and a major port, where among other things rubber, palm oil, sugar, copra, pepper and gold are exported. Gold is mined from a mine near the town, the pepper is grown in the surrounding areas of the city. Other important industries are shipbuilding and processing of agricultural products. Pontianak is also home to two universities. One of them, Tanjungpura University, was founded in 1963; it is located in the city center.

The city was founded in 1771 by Arab ship travelers and traders who established a sultanate here. Already in 1778 the Dutch founded here a trading post of the Dutch East India Company. Finally, the city came in the second half of the 19th century under Dutch control and was part of the Dutch colonial possessions. During World War II Pontianak was occupied by the Japanese. In 1950, the southern part of the island of Borneo and the city of Pontianak, Indonesia was part of the newly founded.