25 years of the Haifa City Museum – an artistic-historical exhibition by artist Ossi Yalon, combining rare historical exhibits • The exhibition will take place between the dates: 12.06.25 to 31.3.26
The Haifa City Museum celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and to mark the celebrations, a first-of-its-kind exhibition will open that will tell the story of the Templars, who arrived in Israel almost 160 years ago. The exhibition, entitled: "The People's House. The Templars: Legacy and Dream" Includes the works of artist Ossi Yalon dealing with the life of the Templars, as well as rare historical exhibits, most of them from the collections of Haifa museums.
Yotam Yakir – CEO of Haifa Museums:
Zvi Hauser – former MK – talks about the Templars in the Land of Israel – Opening of the exhibition
The Templar community began arriving in Israel in October 1868 from the Kingdom of Württemberg in southwestern Germany. The community's first colony was established in Haifa, followed by six more colonies and various outposts throughout the country. The Templars established a thriving agriculture, tourism, and industry there and greatly influenced the economic development of the city. The German colony in Haifa has become an important historical, cultural, and tourist site in present-day Haifa.
Artist Ossi Yalon
The exhibition will feature the works of artist Ossi Yalon, who has been researching the community in the Land of Israel for years. The works in the exhibition attempt to revive the lifestyles of the Templars and imagine their daily lives, the cultural and social characteristics of their community, and the view from the windows of their homes. In the video installation located on the first floor, several characters from the community "come back to life," so that visitors can truly experience the daily lives of the settlers and feel like they are witnessing the children's activities in the building's courtyard, the conversations of the community's senior leaders, and their experiences in Haifa. The second floor of the exhibition will focus on the community's activities and the ways in which it influences industry, the economy, and culture in Haifa.
The exhibition weaves a fascinating story using works of art and historical exhibits, some of which have never been exhibited before: photographs, postcards, personal notebooks, and more. Yalon's works are also based on historical photographs, which she treats and gives a unique interpretation to.
The People's House
The Beit Ha’am building, built in 1869, served as a religious, social, and cultural center and was at the heart of the Templar community. Using VR goggles, visitors will be able to tour the Beit Ha’am as it appeared during the days of the Templar colony. Since the Templars left the country, the building has changed its purpose and function. In the late 90s, the building underwent a conservation and renovation process, and in 2000 it was converted into the Haifa City Museum.
"The 25th anniversary of the museum's founding provides a special opportunity to go back in time," says Yifat Ashkenazi, curator of the Haifa City Museum. "This unique building holds fascinating stories of a community that had a great cultural, communal and architectural influence. The German heritage is embedded in the museum's DNA. As the museum's curator, it is important to me to continue the community heritage of the building and create a multicultural meeting place."
Prof. Yossi Ben-Artzi, head of the Schumacher Institute and the Hari Zessler Chair in Zionism at the University of Haifa, who served as a professional advisor for the exhibition:
"The settlement of the German Templars in the Land of Israel has fascinated many from the dawn of its existence to the present day. Despite its limited scope, which at its peak probably numbered no more than 1700 people, it was a leading and important factor in the modernization processes that the country underwent even before the Hebrew settlement. It left its mark on a unique cultural landscape in the heart of Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Jaffa, and a fascinating historical legacy.
The city museum should be congratulated for the initiative in establishing the exhibition and its unique nature, and for bringing the story of the Templar community in Israel, and in particular that of Haifa."
The establishment of the exhibition was made possible thanks to the generosity of the following entities:
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem represents Christians around the world who stand with Israel and the Jewish people. The organization has branches and representative offices in many countries around the world. The body represents Christians around the world who stand with Israel and the Jewish people.
Goethe Institute, Haifa Municipality, University of Haifa, Haifa Cultural Foundation, Moshli Eldar Architects.
Haifa Museums CEO Yotam Yakir warmly thanked the donors: "We succeeded in the ambitious task of an exhibition that fascinatingly combines art and history, and I salute the museum staff and the scientific advisor who have worked wonders. But we simply could not have done it without the support of many organizations that have volunteered to help and understood how unique and rare the project is. I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to everyone, and a special thank you to the people of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem who not only went above and beyond but have already become true friends of the all-so-special Haifa Forest Museum."
The exhibition will also include educational activities, games and workshops for children:
- "Adventure in the City Museum" game - using a unique flashlight and a map, children will have to search throughout the museum for missing items.
- Folding Templar Houses – In the museum's foyer, families will be able to paint and fold their own Templar houses.
- Wooden house play in the museum courtyard – wooden houses that children can enter, play in, and become young farmers. Using pieces of wood, they can build paths, pave the houses, transport grain in small wheelbarrows, and more.
The exhibition will also include an audio guide, which can be heard via smartphone.
Address: 11 Ben Gurion Boulevard, Haifa
Opening days and hours:
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday - 10:00-16:00
Thursday – 10:00-18:00
Friday - 10: 00-14: 00
Exhibition closing date: 31.3.26
In August and on Israeli holidays, opening times may change.
The Templars were anti-Semites long before Nazism. They hated Jews and did not want to trade with them or let them bathe on their beach, and it was not for nothing that they happily joined the Nazi youth movements and stood behind all the principles of racial theory out of their local hatred of Jews and even of German-speaking Jews who came to Haifa, whom they hated even more and refused to help them establish Hadar Carmel, and of course, refused to trade with them as much as possible.
Why we need to glorify them and whitewash their dark past is not clear to many of us with a truly healthy historical consciousness of what happened in Haifa with the men of this crusade who were considered even by the British to be dangerous enemy agents.
Even preserving their homes is just a Jewish exile longing for European cities, just like the grandchildren of Holocaust victims wave their German passports. There was a place to completely destroy the colony and leave no trace of the haters and enemies of our people, and certainly not to use the German names for Sharon with an S instead of SHARONA, after all, it is named after the Sharon region, only with a distorted German pronunciation. We need to stop calling it a German colony and call it Kiryat Ben Gurion. Precisely because of their anger. It's a shame that they preserved their history.