Colour news
FestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleCraft and textilesBalenciaga Spring/Summer2027 Runway Dips Into ColourFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetCraft and textilesThe Souls I (Grafix Gold, Topaz, Chilli Red) (2010) by Damien Hirst - For SaleCraft and textilesBalenciaga Spring/Summer2027 Runway Dips Into Colour
Rang

The Red Square

Melaka

The old Dutch town hall, church and clock tower of this Malaysian port are all painted one terracotta red.

Dutch Square. Malacca City , Malacca , Malaysia.
Photo: Marcin Konsek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Melaka is dutch square red

Melaka, also spelled Malacca, was a great trading port on the strait that links the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It was held in turn by a Malay sultanate, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. In the centre is Dutch Square. The Stadthuys, built as the Dutch town hall in the 1650s, and Christ Church, from 1753, face a small fountain. All are painted a strong terracotta red. They were not always so: the buildings were originally white, and the red was applied in the early 20th century under British rule. The reasons given vary. Across the river, the shophouses of the old Chinese quarter have pastel fronts and painted tiles.

Dutch Square red#A63A32Trim white#F3EFE6Shophouse teal#3F8F8ARiver brown#7F6A4F

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Melaka

RedA primary colour seen in light, pigment, and tradition worldwide
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Malacca City" on Wikipedia. If you know Melaka and we have it wrong, tell us.

More colour cities

All colour cities
🇮🇳 The open-air gallery of RajasthanShekhawatiMerchant mansions in the towns of north Rajasthan are covered inside and out with painted murals.🇮🇳 Land of mirror work and white desertKutchEmbroidery, tie-dye and block print in deep red and indigo, set against the white salt of the Rann.🇮🇳 The silk cityKanchipuramA temple town in Tamil Nadu whose heavy silk saris pair strong body colours with contrasting gold borders.🇮🇳 Red earth and a golden sphereAurovilleAn experimental township on red earth near Pondicherry, centred on the golden globe of the Matrimandir.🇮🇳 Akbar's red sandstone cityFatehpur SikriA Mughal capital built in one red stone in the 1570s and left by the court only a few years later.🇮🇳 Capital in red sandstoneDelhiFrom the Qutb Minar to the Red Fort to the government buildings, Delhi's monuments share one red stone.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.