Palembang

Oil-refining city in Indonesia, capital of South Sumatra province, on the River Musi; population (2000) 1,194,400. A port for ocean-going vessels, exports include rubber, coffee, petroleum, timber, and spices. As well as oil-refining, industries include shipbuilding, iron founding, rubber processing and the manufacture of fertilizers.

Palembang was the capital of a Buddhist empire until the 14th century and then of a Hindu empire until it came under Muslim control in the 16th century. The Dutch established a trading station here in 1616. The Great Mosque (1740) is a major landmark and the city is also the home of Sriwijaya University (1960).