The settlement in J'lem was the 3rd by German Temple Society, a religious Lutheran missionary society, in Palestine after one in Haifa, Jaffa.
By JON BENZAQUENEmek Refaim German Colony Jerusalem_58(photo credit: adi benzaquen)
The German Colony, Hamoshava Hagermanit, is a quarter in Jerusalem built in the second half of the 19th century. The name derives from the organization that founded the neighborhood The German Temple Society, a religious Lutheran missionary society, believed in settling in the Holy Land. In 1910 there were well-established German settlements and thriving communities in Jerusalem, Haifa, Sarona, Wilhelma, Bethlehem and Waldheim near Nazareth.The settlement in Jerusalem was their third in Palestine after the one in Haifa and Jaffa. The settlement in Jerusalem was an agricultural settlement built on fallow agricultural land outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was established in 1873 after one of the colonists, Matthaus Frank, bought a large tract of land in the Refaim Valley from a landowner from Beth Safafa, southwest of the Old City.The Templers were Christians who broke away from the Protestant church and encouraged their members to settle in the Holy Land to prepare for messianic salvation. They built their homes in the style to which they were accustomed in Germany – farmhouses of one or two stories, with slanting tiled roofs and shuttered windows – but using local materials such as Jerusalem stone instead of wood and bricks.The colonists engaged in agriculture and traditional trades. Their homes ran along two parallel streets that would become Emek Refaim and Derech Beit Lehem.One of the most famous landmarks of German initiative in Jerusalem is the Augusta Victoria Hospital on Mount Scopus, a building that looks more like a palace than a hospital.According to hearsay, it was built by the Germans who had designs on Palestine as a potential government house, their seat of government in the Holy Land. When the British took over in 1917, they also took over the pretentious Augusta Victoria complex and used it as their government house. The residence of the high commissioner for Palestine was built in the late 1920s, and only then was the building vacated.The original Templer residents were gradually shipped to Australia, first as enemy aliens during the World War II, and after the establishment of the State of Israel as undesirable German nationals.Meanwhile, the well to-do middle-class Arab families who built houses in the area fled or were evicted after Israel’s War of Independence.Much water has flowed under the bridge since German Templers walked the streets of Jerusalem.Today, the area is popularly called the Moshava and is an upscale neighborhood bisected by Emek Refaim, an avenue lined with trendy shops, restaurants and cafes.After the War of Independence, the empty buildings were used to house immigrants and, as such, the neighborhood deteriorated from being the abode of affluent families to being something of a slummish backwater. Since the end of the 20th century, the neighborhood has undergone a process of gentrification, or upgrading. Efforts are being made to restore old landmark buildings and incorporate some of their architectural features, such as arched windows and tiled roofs, in new construction. Numerous cafes, bars, restaurants and boutiques have opened in the neighborhood, and many affluent families have moved there, pushing up the price of real estate.The German Colony has a large English-speaking population, with the English-speaking community comprising both families and singles, permanent immigrants and visitors. The neighborhood is home to the Smadar Theater, Jerusalem’s arthouse cinema and a perennial gathering place .The colorful history of the German Colony is illustrated by the mix of architectural styles found within a relatively small area. Within close proximity, one finds Swabian-style homes, examples of late provincial Ottoman architecture and British Art Deco from the Mandatory period. An example of British architecture is the Scottish Hospice and St. Andrew’s Church, built in 1927, decorated with local Armenian tilework. Some of the Templer homes have biblical inscriptions in German on their lintels..The side streets of the German Colony are named for gentile supporters of Zionism and the Jewish people.These include French author Emile Zola, who defended Alfred Dreyfus; Czech president Tomas Masaryk; and South African prime minister Jan Smuts. Many other streets are named for prominent Britons such Lloyd George, British Labour Party leader Josiah Wedgewood, Col. John Patterson, commander of the Jewish Legion in World War I and the pro-Zionist British general Wyndham Deedes.At present, the real estate market in the German Colony is hot, and prices have appreciated consistently over the last four years. Alyssa Friedland, broker/ owner of RE/MAX Vision in Jerusalem, told In Jerusalem that “Smaller properties have appreciated as much as 50 percent over this four-year period, and larger ones have seen as much as 20-30% appreciation.”Land and empty lots are scarce in this area of the city. Many savvy investors and developers have bought up older, rundown properties, especially those with architectural significance, and renovated them. Some have obtained permits to build additional floors, creating new properties yet maintaining the old-world charm of the original structure. Strict building codes require historical properties to blend in with the original architecture of the property, thereby preserving the beauty and character of that originally intended.Friedland says that “This adherence to the historical architectural character has been one of the reasons many foreign buyers who want to purchase vacation homes tend to buy these old-world structures. The ancient stone and arched windows turn their spiritual connection into a physical connection as well.“ For the larger, more luxurious properties, priced anywhere from $7,000 to $9,000 per square meter, 60%-70% of the buyers are wealthy people from abroad. For the smaller apartments, prices from $5,000 to $6,000 per sq. m. are slightly more affordable for the local population and new immigrants.
Recent real estate transactions in the German Colony• A four-room, 70-sq. m. second-floor apartment on Hildesheimer Street with two bathrooms was sold for NIS 2,080,000.• A three-room, 78-sq. m apartment on Hamelitz Street with 1.5 bathrooms and a small garden was sold for NIS 2,200,000.• A five-room, 134-sq. m. ground-floor apartment on Emek Refaim with three bathrooms and a small garden was sold for NIS 3,600,000.• A seven-room, 160-sq. m. apartment on Hatzfira Street with three bathrooms and a garden was sold for NIS 3,680,000.
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