History and Heritage of Sarona: The Templers' Colony

1. Below (image taken from the top of Azrielli Tower): Sarona on both sides of Kaplan Street, recently widened. on the right side: the "Kiryah", location of IDF headquarters; on the left side: the remaining houses of TemplerSarona, the houses next to the road are the relocated ones, to facilitate the widening of Kaplan Street (to be discussed later). Photography comments and editing: Igal Morag Background; unknown music.

2. On April 2014 the Sarona compound in Tel Aviv was officially opened following years of development work, preservation and restoration, that changed the historic Templer Colony and turned it into a modern recreation and shopping site. Prior to dealing with contemporary Sarona, it is appropriate to outline its history, and even prior to that, dedicate a few words to its founders, the Templers, arriving here about 146 years ago.The Templers (to differentiate from the Templars Crusaders order) were members of a Protestant movement founded in Southwestern Germany in the mid 19th century.

3. The founder and theologist of the movement , Christoph Hoffmann, aspired to prepare and enable the background for the Second Coming of Christ, and bring about the redemption anchored in the Christian faith. The Templers believed that redemption may be achieved by hard work in residence in the Holy Land, where they aspired to maintain a model of ideal living through forming productive farming communities. They have erected neighborhoods in existing towns in the Holy Land, Sarona as a farming colony, and later more farming communities by Templers of the second generation.

4. The community house of the Templer Colony in Haifa A typical home next to a service court (usually a cowshed) having two levels, the livestock in the lower level, and the hayloft in the upper level. “The German (Templer) Colony” in Haifa – (the red-roofed houses on both sides of Ben Gurion Avenue) as seen from the Bahai Gardens above. In 1868 the first Templer settlers arrived in the Holy Land and founded the German colony in Haifa.

5. The second wave of Templer settlers arrived at this country two years later. Their forerunners settled in the outskirts of Jaffa in a neighborhood called “The American Colony”. It was formed by a group of followers of “Church of the Messiah” from the state of Maine in the United States. They arrived here in 1866, led by the preacher George Adams, equipped with prefabricated wooden houses, advanced farming equipment etc. However this group, despite having built a beautiful neighborhood, suffered from disease and high mortality rate due to harsh sanitary conditions. The advanced farming equipment they brought with them was of little use, because it was not suitable for local conditions. Their farming output was very poor. Within three years the colony emptied out of its inhabitants, some died from disease and the rest returned to the United States desperate and frustrated leaving behind them their deserted houses. The “American Colony” houses were bought and renovated by the Templers, (and the colony’s name became commonly known as “The American – German Colony) .

6. Immanuel Church – near the houses on Ber Hoffmann Street, Jaffa. Remains of the houses and the Church if the Messiah sect on Ber Hoffmann Street. Below, a typical house, derelict, followed by exemplary renovated houses. In 1904 the Templers inaugurated what today is the Anglican Church – Immanuel Church. The Templers populated the colony until World War II, when they were deported from this country (more later). The other settlers of that immigration wave founded Sarona (4 Km Northeast of Jaffa) as a farming community.

7. This has been an introductory glance into Sarona houses. being the main topic of this presentation, it will be discussed later in detail. Deserted service court typical for Sarona houses t.. A typical Templer House in Sarona We move on to Sarona, founded in late 1871, when its founders built two-story stone houses, inspired by similar houses in Germany, ran an exemplary farming operation, and managed a thriving colony for 70 years. More later.

8. The Templer Church at the entrance to EmekRefaim Street followed by a number of typical houses. In 1873 another Templer group formed the German Colony in Jerusalem – and here is a contemporary image:

9. "Below an example of Templer houses in “BeneiAtarot After 30 years of prosperity, the second-generation Templers formed three more farming settlements: “Wilhelma” (today BeneiAtarot, adjacent to Ben Gurion airport) in 1902.

10. A cowshed that has been renovated recently to become a fancy single family house A Templer cowshed, derelict. On the ground level the livestock, on the upper level the hayloft. The water tower next to the dairy; it is worth mentioning that the Templers were the first to import water pumps that distributed water from wells through lines to the houses and fields. The community house of Betlehem In 1906 the Templers founded “Betlehem” (today Bet LehemHaglilit near Tivon).

11. A large farmhouse (partly deserted) built by the Unger Templer family. A typical Templer house, today in use by the artist Hanna Levav, displaying her artwork, in ceramics and more An expanded Templer house used for living. The Church of Alonei Abba. And in 1907 “Waldheim” was formed (today moshavAlonei Abba near Bet LehemHaglilit.

12. And here is the place to tell a little more about the :Templers Their origin and main dates have been discussed, but it is worth mentioning that the Templers accelerated considerably the development of agriculture, industry, commerce, and tourism in Eretz-Israel.The Templers brought with them advanced farming equipment such as ploughs and tractors for operating them, grain harvesters etc. – metal tools with high performance and efficiency that exceeded greatly what was known here at the time. They imported gasoline or diesel driven water pumps, enabling them to have running water in the houses and irrigation lines in the fields; formed a transportation setup between Haifa Jaffa and Jerusalem and hospitality setup that included a number of hotels and hostels, mainly for Christian pilgrims arriving in the Holy Land; all these were a significant novelty and upgrade for quality of life in Eretz Israel.

13. Their settlements thrived and expanded, however their loyalty to their country of origin made then identify with the regime in Germany, and some of them even joined the Nazi party. With the outbreak of World War II they were identified by the British authorities (who ruled the country at the time) as “fifth column”. First they were confined to their own farming settlements, later deported , mainly to Australia. With the end of the War and the formation of the State of Israel, their settlements were taken over by IDF, and populated with new immigrants. The Templers were compensated by the State of Israel for their lost property which became property of the State.

14. As soon as we go downstairs, we find a large space cut into the sandstone rock, not in use at this time, and separated by a glass wall, hence the poor quality image. A contemporary image of the structure, note the glass chamber installed at the front, through which we can descend into the secrets of the winery… As mentioned, the advanced agriculture of the Templers included vinyards and olive groves for olive oil production, and for that purpose they built a winery and an olive press. We commence our tour with these two institutions that were known for some time but were made accessible to the public only lately. First, the winery, located at 27 David Elazar Street. We start with an old image and move on… we embark on a journey in the streets of Sarona, while presenting its past and the dramatic change that this area has gone through in recent years…

15. Here we can see (left) the end of the tunnel through which we came over. At the end of the tunnel, some good tens of meters in length, we reach a turnaround; in the center a large sandstone column for support of the ceiling. Underneath the winery ground floor there are spaces and tunnels which were dug out for storage of produce.

16. On top of all of them, the main restaurant hall. Above it – the impressive bar. Downstairs – a nice spacious lobby In this area in three levels, are the storage and production halls of the original winery, lately turned into hospitality spaces of a splendid restaurant – bar, named “Jajo Bar Yayin”. We quietly peek into these, tell their stories, (by the way, since this restaurant opens only at 18:00, I could take pictures without disturbing anyone).

17. When getting out of the restaurant, one experiences the beautiful external facade of the winery.

18. As related earlier, during WWII the Templers were deported as enemy subjects. Their settlements were taken over by the British military, and once vacated, were taken over by the IDF. Most of the Templer settlements were settled by new immigrants. Sarona, however, was taken over by the State, that took the northern part, named it “Hakiryah”, mainly for military offices. The southern part was taken by various government agencies. The winery and its cellars was occupied first by the Government printing house (which also prints our currency notes), and later occupied by the Ministry of Defense; but in its early days of Israeli presence, here was a plant for rehabilitation of airplanes. And here is the story: Early in 1948, the British advertized an auction for sale of 20 disassembled Auster planes, that were stored at Akir (today Tel Noff). The Air Service rivaled a number of aviation clubs and other Arab bodies, and succeeded in winning the auction. It was determined that the reconstruction of the planes will take place in Sarona.

19. “For a number of days we did a thorough cleanup”, related Shabtai Katz. “We took all the trash outside, and prepared the winery for absorption of the Auster planes. The planes arrived in a convoy from Akir, and transferred immediately to the cellar. On the right side of the winery was a ramp, with which the Templers were lowering the wine barrels downstairs. This ramp allowed us to lower the disassembled planes easily. Freddy saw to it that the place is organized, and we created in different corners of the cellar various workstations. We had a fabrics department, paint dept., instruments dept., mechanics, body repair, and even a unit for tires and ground equipment services. It sounds like we had an empire, but all we were was just 10 people. Finally these men succeeded in utilizing 18 Auster planes; apart from the Austers, we assembled in Sarona a number of Tailorcraft planes manufactured in the USA, and RWD-13 planes made in Poland, and also the first Spitfire of the Israeli air force was put together from parts that the British left behind…”

20. The small space makes it difficult to put in one photo all the components of oil making; visible in this image are the crushing stone (mamal) rotating on top of the basin (yam) and crushes the olives. To the right and in front of it, is a unique hydraulic press, with which the oil was extracted from olive waste, the already crushed olives. The oil press facility is located a number of houses northwest of the winery (David Elazar 22 Street). The structure was built in the yard of the PflugfelderTempler family, ca. 1870, and built from local sandstone. Today there is a coffee house on premises, serving various dishes containing olive oil in various flavors. The oil press is open to the public on specific hours and there are conducted tours, every hour or so.

21. This is the belt transmission system that connects the motor with the crushing stone, and en route drives other machines. Inside one can witness the system that converts vertical motion to horizontal, and with a system of cog wheels rotates the crushing stone. This is the motor (one–tact diesel), and the belt connected to it and to all the other components of the oil press. The Templer oil press is unique because its components were driven by a diesel motor (made by the famous German manufacturer Deutz), while all the other oil presses (and there are thousands in Eretz Israel) were driven at that time with livestock (donkeys, horses, oxen) and it is safe to assume that this was the first oil press in the country that was fully mechanized, as I will try to show later… And here - sample of the oil can marketed from the oil press of Sarona.

22. We leave for a while the early days of Sarona, jumping to September 2005 In time, The Israeli IDF headquarters established itself in the northern part of Sarona, while in the southern part, the government agencies slowly begun to vacate the historic buildings. The Land Administration and the City begun a process of its designation and conservation. On the southern end of the area, a number of towers were built, but for most of the area there was a bitter conflict among the various bodies involved in the process, that ended only by mid 2014. By 2005 it was decided to widen Kaplan Street to four lanes, creating a heated debate what to do with 5 houses which were located inside the widened strip. The solution at the end of the debate was to relocate the houses, and simply move them tens of meters south. On April 2008, once the project was completed, I have produced a presentation that accompanied the project through the three years of its duration, which will not be shown here, except for a number of flashes… Left: one of the giant billboards placed along Kaplan Street when the project was initiated

23. The work zone was fenced off with a security fence that was utilized exceptionally well to tell the story of Sarona, with old pictures and explanatory texts.

24. And there were those who demonstrated their “graffiti” ability and left it for us to decide whether this is vandalism or street art???

25. A wall with old images and academic texts, followed by a beautiful memo for other days A few examples for nostalgic images of the distant days of Sarona, starting with some postcards

26. And some simulations as to what is about to happen… כך ייראה רח' קפלן לאחר שדרוגו.

27. Now we move on to the relocation project, started September 2005 I will show one house only (out of 5 that were relocated) as an example: first you completely block all openings or build a steel frame around the opening (windows, doors etc.), and mark with red paint all existing cracks before the house is moved, in order to see whether the cracks expand when the house is moved. In addition, you add steel reinforcement in the inside spaces of the house, pour a concrete slab under the lower walls, then cut the building below the slab and detach it from the foundations.

28. Simultaneously massive foundations are being poured in the new location, to fit perfectly with the dimensions of the house.

29. Between the old and new locations you place a system of rails Now the house is ready to be moved to the new location and here is the link to the video

30. The video of relocating one of the five houses – click on the link below… It is a youtube item and please ignore the accompanied presentations. (for optimal presentation go to the bottom of the picture, and there – on the right side, there is a little square for full screen. When the presentation is over, click Esc (top left on your keyboard). Then click on the “X” at the top left to resume the PPT presentation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYSyopsFCFk

31. And here - a look onto the upper floor of the relocated house. Looking at the house in its new location The house is at its new location (now seen from the other side), with a concrete basement cast before the relocation (the walls of the basement need to be built and covered with earth fill. The next phase is yet to be done.

32. And by the way, this house, the last to be relocated, was the post office of Sarona since the 1950s, having a clock at the top, now restored and put back in place.  April 2008 – the first phase of the Sarona project is completed, the houses received a preliminary treatment, their vicinity gardened and lawn planted… July 2006 – all the houses are at the new location, and the work now is concentrated in widening Kaplan Street.

33. A sidewalk paved for pedestrians and cyclists and the widened Kaplan street is open for traffic.

34. On November 2013 I visited the site, and found Sarona in the course of a huge development momentum.

35. From April 2008 until April 2014 all the historic houses underwent interior burnishing and massive renovation, and now the site is open as an recreation site with many restaurants, boutique shops, and more. Before we tour the site here is a computer simulation from North to South, at the bottom the upgraded Kaplan Street, behind it the five relocated houses, and in the middle the preserved historic colony engulfed by a horseshoe of new towers.

36. Kaplan 34 turned into “Burger 110” – exterior and interior. Commencing with a view of Kaplan Street and the relocated houses. Late April 2014 – we embark on a journey at Sarona site, among the beautiful renovated houses, the graceful gardens, the restaurants and various businesses, finally opened to the public.

37. And now - free roaming throughout the siteThe center of the site, charmingly gardened, in spite of the shadow cast by the armada of giants in the background.

38. הבית במבט מאחור. In this beautiful house (note the elevator for accessibility for the disabled) at 14 Albert Mandler Street, historically the Baldenhofer family house is where the visitor center is located, now open to the public.

39. A number of some beautiful houses in Sarona without indication of their new use

40. And looking at the windows, one cannot ignore the “Manchlach”, made and installed in order to keep the shutters open. And while roaming, one cannot ignore the wonderful windows, in a variety of form and color.

41. In the center of the project there are stages for performances, small and large, along with blossoming artificial ponds At the margins of the project two playgrounds for children

42. And while mentioning ponds, I would like to share with you the wonderful blossoming of the water lilies, in full blossom at the time of photography.

43. These images of blossom are, in my opinion, the best way to conclude our presentation, which honors the Templers (however tragic was the end of their presence in Eretz Israel) and also honors those who made the effort to preserve the Templers heritage here. Scouting, photography and editing of this presentation Igal Morag - morag-i@013.net This link will bring you to visit my English websit http://www.2go2.co.il/home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68374&mode=s&icid=7542 Translated from the Hebrew by Danny Goldman