A “New” Jaffa Gate

June 1, 2010

Extensive conservation treatment was carried out on all of Jaffa Gate’s facades and its interior: stones were reinforced and hazards that endangered the safety of the visiting public were removed; the bullet damage to the gate was preserved; weathered stones and decorations were treated; and the gate underwent a thorough cleaning. The gate’s dedicatory inscription, which had severely deteriorated and was quickly becoming detached from the structure, was completely dismantled and conserved.

Jaffa Gate was first inaugurated in 1538. Only toward the end of the 19th century did it become a center of bustling and prosperous activity. The period culminated in the year 1898, when it was decided to breach a wide entrance in the city wall (as we know it today) and thereby allow German Kaiser Wilhelm II and his wife to enter the city in their carriage. Thus, for the first time in the history of modern Jerusalem, carts could enter the Old City.

During the War of Independence, Jaffa Gate was completely blocked by an armored vehicle that had been damaged in the fighting. In the cease-fire agreements between Israel and Jordan, Jaffa Gate stood at the opening to the no man's land that stretched from Jaffa Gate to Zahal Square [at the corner near New Gate] and the Mamilla neighborhood [directly across the street from Jaffa Gate] and separated it from Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem in the east. Consequently, the blocked armored vehicle was not removed, and the gate remained closed the entire period that the city was divided [till 1967]. The remains of the bullets that pierced the stones of the gate are clearly visible on the upper parts of the structure.

Source: From an IAA press release