5 Heeren Museum Residence
Three centuries of Peranakan wealth restored on Malacca's Millionaires Row
About the Property
A 300-year-old Peranakan townhouse on Heeren Street (Millionaires Row), meticulously restored over seven years with rare antiques including mother-of-pearl furniture, majolica tiles, and an antique opium bed.
Original Purpose
Wealthy Peranakan family residence on Millionaires Row
Highlights
History Timeline
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) captures Malacca from the Portuguese, establishing the city as a key Dutch colonial trading hub and triggering a building boom along the waterfront Heeren Street.
A wealthy Peranakan (Straits Chinese) family constructs the townhouse at 5 Heeren Street (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock), known as Millionaires Row, blending Dutch colonial proportions with Chinese interior planning.
Malacca joins the Straits Settlements under British administration; Heeren Street retains its status as the most prestigious address in the city, with Peranakan families maintaining their grand ancestral townhouses.
Japanese forces occupy Malacca; Heeren Street residents are displaced and several townhouses including this property are commandeered for administrative use during the wartime occupation.
Malacca and George Town are jointly inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites; Heeren Street is identified as the finest row of surviving Peranakan merchant townhouses in the world.
5 Heeren Museum Residence opens after a seven-year restoration that sourced rare mother-of-pearl furniture and period antiques to authentically recreate the interior of a 300-year-old Peranakan townhouse.