House of Sampoerna

The House of Sampoerna is situated in the old centre of Surabaya. It was built in 1862 to be an orphanage managed by the Dutch. One of the orphans, Liem Seeng Tee, bought the big Dutch colonial-style building in 1932 to be used as a production facility for his cigarette company.

In 2003, at the 90th anniversary of the company, the complex was restored and partly turned into a museum. But up to this day it is still a production facility where Indonesia's most prestigious cigarette, Dji Sam Soe, is still being produced. One of the highlights of the tour is to watch thousands of young women hand rolling with traditional equipment this cigarette at a speed of 325 cigarettes per hour.

Due to the unique combination of the old historical building, the company museum and the traditional production facility the House of Sampoerna is considered to be one of Surabaya's top tourist destinations.

The building consists of four parts, the main auditorium, the production facilities behind the auditorium and two smaller buildings on the side. The building on the west side is still the family residence while the east building has been converted to a public area including a kiosk, cafe and art gallery. The original central auditorium is now the museum. Production of the Dji Sam Soe cigarette is still being carried out in the factory at the back of the complex.

If you want to watch the production of the Dji Sam Soe cigarette you have to come on workdays (Monday through Saturday) before 15:00 hour.