Visitors Information

Haifa City Museum

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Haifa City Museum invites you to embark on a fascinating journey into a Mediterranean modern city. Our sojourn begins in the eighteenth century, when Sheikh Dāhir al-Umar al-Zaydani, the ruler of Acre and the Galilee, demolished the old city (Haifa El Atika) and the established the “New Haifa” (Haifa al-Jadida), on the narrowest space between the mountain and the sea. Our sojourn continues as Haifa became an international cosmopolitan, and follows the city from its days as a red workers city to its transformation into the northern metropolitan it is today.

The museum’s location on the edge of Haifa’s German Colony, next to the historical city, exposes a rich and complex urban texture, which attempts to express the historical diversity of the city’s different populations. As part of the museum’s cultural activities, it exhibits themes related to the core of the city and its character, which attract different cultures, and encounters between the east and the west. The museum thus opens a space for debating political issues that are formed and processed within the urban space.

The museum not only explores the unique story of Haifa within the local landscape, but also promotes a discourse revolving around the urban space and the urban culture as an object of research.

The museum considers it of upmost importance to nurture the bonds with the local community and the city’s other cultural institutions. Alongside the exhibits, the museum also conducts various activities in the form of meetings, conferences, lectures, and tours of the city with academics, artists, curators, and local researchers.

Beit Ha’am and the Templars School

Haifa city museum resides in the German Colony at a compound that includes two spectacular buildings from the Templar period: “Beit Ha’am”, the first Templar building to be built in Palestine, and “The Templar School”.

“Beit Ha’am”, which was built in 1869, was used as a gathering hall and housed the German school for the members of the Templar Society, who came to Palestine during the 19^th century believing that their settlement in this land will lead to the redemption of the world. Since their ideology prevented them from building churches, the hall on the ground floor was used as a place to pray, conduct meetings, and celebrate special occasion, while the rooms on the top floors were used as a school and residence for the teacher’s family.

In 1890, “Beit Ha’am” was renovated. A great hall with an apse at its end was built in its eastern part, and a new bell-tower was erected on the roof. These additions endowed the building with a church-like appearance. A separate building for the school was established only in 1902, when after many difficulties, the association in Haifa managed to secure the necessary funds.

As the years passed, the buildings were left abandoned. In the 1970s the neighborhood’s developmental trends threatened the unique character of the neighborhood, as well as its very existence. In the 1990s, the municipality of Haifa made plans for the restoration and preservation of the colony. This process turned the colony into one of the city’s gems. As part of the restoration and preservation process, the CEO of Haifa Museums, Mr. Nissim Tal, delineated the conceptual program to establish the museum in the two Templar buildings. Architect Dagan Mochli prepared a plan for the preservation and restoration of the original buildings, and in 2000 the museum was inaugurated in the Templar “Beit Ha’am”. In 2004 the school’s building was opened as a space for changing exhibitions.

Exhibits

As a museum that marks the city’s historical and cultural wealth, Haifa City Museum strives to initiate an active social and cultural discussion. This discussion encompasses exhibits that revolve around questions of history, urbanism, identity, multinationalism and multiculturalism.

The museum’s changing exhibits shed light on the pivotal processes and themes that have molded the image of Haifa both as a modern city as a reflection of the culture of Israel’s society. These unique exhibits engage in the singular dynamic of the city between different populations, physical spaces and social institutions that create the urban texture. The exhibits reflect the historical developments that have effected the development of the city from the Ottoman era to today. They examine the relations between the place and the community and how it could have affected the constitution of a local, national, religious or ethnic identity as well as the transferal of ideals and ideologies.

Children and Family

The museum offers its visitors the opportunity to embark on a fascinating journey into the city’s cultural and urban development; thus it educates and inspires a new generation of lovers of culture and strengthens the bonds of the community, society and culture. The museum’s educational team develops programs to a wide gamut of audiences including: school children, university students, tour groups, and single visitors. During the holydays and in special occasions, the museum offers activities to the general public, families and children.

For more information about the museum’s various activities, please contact us and follow our publications on the museum’s website.

Prices:

	Entrance Ticket	Combined Haifa Museums ticket
Adults	30NIS	80NIS
Children (ages 5-18) /Policemen /soldiers/students/Disabled visitors/ Resident of Haifa (Presenting an identity card)	30 NIS
Senior citizens	15 NIS	40 NIS
Family admission ticket	100NIS	170NIS
Another child.	17NIS	17NIS

The city museum building is a preservation building without an elevator and therefore only the ground floor is accessible. The company invests a lot of effort in promoting full accessibility of the museum.

*Groups interested in guided tours (also available in other languages) Contact Us - 04-6030800 ext.4 or in the email visitors@haifamuseums.org.il

*25% discount on exhibitions and events at Haifa Museums for Haifa Municipality workers (valid ID required)

Map:

Museum address: 11 Ben Gurion Ave.,3502105 Haifa, Israel

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Special discounts:

-10% off on activities in Haifa Museums For Mizrachi Tfahot card members. Discount valid in entrance and exhibitions tours, cinema, lectures, children activities, museum shops.

-Benefit for American Express customers: 1 + 1 in purchasing an entrance ticket for exhibitions at the Haifa Museums for 390 points for American Express customers and for 90 points for premium customers.

-25% discount for Haifa Municipality employees for exhibitions, events, lectures, children activities and more, 20% discount in museum shops.

-Members of "Artists Creating in Israel" - Entrance ticket for only 15 NIS when presenting an updated member card.

-New immigrants, up to one year in Israel can enter free of charge when presenting valid identification.