Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Church of the
Dormition
e
Mount Zion.
Map
1 C5.
Tel
(02) 671
l
9927.
@
38, 20.
#
9am-noon &
12:30-6pm Mon-Thu, 9am-noon &
2-6pm Fri, 10:30am-noon &
12:30- 6pm Sun.
7
Crowned by a tall bell
tower and a dome with
four small corner turrets, the
Neo-Romanesque Church of
the Dormition dominates the
Mount Zion hilltop. The large,
airy, white-stone church
stands on the site where the
Virgin Mary is said to have
fallen into an “eternal sleep”.
After Christ's death, according
to Christian tradition, his
mother went to live on Mount
Zion until she herself died.
The hill soon became a
holy site, available information
suggesting that there may have
been a church here as early
as the 4th century AD. It is
known with more certainty
that around the 6th century a
large basilica was built on the
site which later fell into ruins.
When the Crusaders came,
they too erected a church
with chapels devoted to the
Dormition of the Virgin and
the Last Supper.
The present-day church,
which includes the Chapel of
the Dormition and Dormition
Abbey, was built in the early
20th century for Kaiser
Wilhelm II and was inspired
by the Carolingian cathedral
in Aachen, Germany.
During the 1948 and 1967
wars the church was used as
a strategic outpost by Israeli
soldiers and was damaged in
The beautifully painted interior of St Peter in Gallicantu
St Peter in
Gallicantu
q
Malki Tsedek Rd.
Map
2 D5.
Tel
(02)
with the final days of Christ,
Mount Zion is revered by Jews,
Muslims and Christians alike.
The hill is bounded to the
east by the Kidron Valley, to
the south and west by the
Hinnom Valley and to the
north by the city walls. This
makes it seem like an island
outside the confines of the
Old City. This was not always
the case, however, for on the
Madaba mosaic map in Jordan
(see pp216-17)
it is shown
inside the walls. It appears to
have been excluded in 1542
when the walls were rebuilt.
Legend has it that Suleyman
the Magnificent's architects
left it outside by mistake.
Christians began assembling
here some time after Christ's
death to worship in the Hall
of the Last Supper and later at
the stone where the Virgin
Mary is said to have died.
Now the site of the Church of
the Dormition, this point
marked the ceasefire border
from 1949 to 1967
(see p54)
.
l
673 4812.
@
38.
#
8:30am-5pm
Mon-Sat.
7 &
Standing to the east of
Mount Zion, on the slopes
overlooking the City of David
(see p115)
and the Kidron
Valley, this church commem-
orates the traditional site of St
Peter's reported denial of Christ
which fulfilled the prophecy,
“Before the cock crow twice,
thou shalt deny me thrice”
(Mark 14: 72). Built in 1931,
the church has a modern
appearance. In the crypt,
however, are ancient caves
where, it is said, Christ spent
the night before being taken
to Pontius Pilate. The remains
of some Herodian architecture
have been discovered under
the church and, in the garden,
there still exists part of a
Hasmonean stairway, in use
in Christ's time, which once
connected the city with the
Kidron Valley. Mosaics from
a previous 5th-6th-century
Byzantine church and monas-
tery have also been unearthed.
Mount Zion
w
Map
1 C5.
@
1, 2.
A short walk from Zion Gate
A
is the hill synonymous
with biblical Jerusalem and the
Promised Land. Believed by
many to be the site of King
David's tomb and associated
The conical dome and bell tower of the Church of the Dormition
For hotels in this area see p256
