Jerusalem Municipality releases comprehensive online list of conservation sites

Effort will help preserve historical areas for future generations, says city councilman.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
THE HISTORIC site of Jerusalem’s First Station is one of 4,000 conservation sites the municipality has listed on its website. (photo credit: JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)
THE HISTORIC site of Jerusalem’s First Station is one of 4,000 conservation sites the municipality has listed on its website.
(photo credit: JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY)
The Jerusalem Municipality on Tuesday announced the online release of a comprehensive, updated list of 4,000 conservation sites in the capital.
The municipality had contracted a multidisciplinary team to inspect 68 neighborhoods and tally the buildings. According to city hall, the updated list – which is available to the public on the municipality website – includes rules and regulations for building near the sites and took several years to compile.
“For the past five years, the Planning Division and the Department of Conservation have worked to map all the conservation sites in the city,” it said in a statement. “The aim of the work is to create a comprehensive list for websites and [for] meeting international professional conservation standards.”
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said it was important to maintain the capital’s many historic structures for posterity.
“Jerusalem is the most beautiful city in the world, as well as one of the oldest cities,” said Barkat in the municipality statement. “Around the city, buildings and sites are evidence of Jerusalem’s past history, and we are working to preserve and commemorate the most important sites and monuments for future generations.”
The municipality added that the list also aimed to provide individuals, architects and developers with a blueprint of structures that could not be altered in any future planning.
Architect and Yerushalmim Party city councilman Tamir Nir, who chairs the city’s Preservation Committee, described the list as “an important historical moment for Jerusalem.”
“As representatives of the public, we are committed to ensuring the development of the city, but at the same time carefully checking which parts of the city deserve [preservation],” he said. “We must find a way to preserve the heritage and history of this unique city, which is layered and multifaceted for the billions of people who study it, as well as for future generations.”
Nir added that one of his top priorities since taking office had been compiling the list for public and private dissemination.
Meanwhile, Tamar Koch, a municipal engineer who helped lead the effort to compile the list, described the information as invaluable to the city’s conservation and planning policies.
“The publication of the computerized list of historic sites surrounding the city...is the first pillar for general conservation policy planning toward which the municipality is working,” Koch said, adding that the list would “preserve the cultural values in the city of Jerusalem.”
The list is available at www.jerusalem.muni.il.