After Massive Renewal Program, Jerusalem’s Tower of David To Reopen as City’s Official Museum
The Tower of David Jerusalem Museum, set at the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, reopens following a $50 million renovation aimed at providing an interactive, technology-infused journey through the city's complex 4000-year-old history
Set at the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, the newly renovated Tower of David Jerusalem Museum provides time travel through the city’s vast history using cutting-edge technology and careful conservation.
Home to Jerusalem’s ancient walls and the iconic tower, the sight has become one of the city’s symbols.
After a decade of planning, three years of construction and renovation, and a $50 million investment, the aim of the ambitious project was to further help tourists, both foreigners and Israelis, understand the complex history of Jerusalem.
The new entrance to the museum will have visitors enter at Jaffa Gate, arriving from modern-day Jerusalem; once they’ve finished their tour, they will exit in the heart of the Old City with its cobblestone paths and narrow alleyways.
The museum was one of the city’s top tourist attractions before the renovation; the aim now is to make it the first stop for any visitor coming to Jerusalem.
The remodeling process also doubled the size of the museum to over 20,000 square meters.
Earlier this year, Time Magazine chose Jerusalem as one of the 50 “world’s greatest places” to visit in 2023. The museum was also mentioned as a sight to be seen.
In it, there are 10 new exhibition galleries. Each gallery has a different theme and employs a wide range of technologies, all with deep respect for the history of the place.
There is a thin line we need to walk on. On one side, we wanted to create an experience; on the other side, we need to be very accurate with history.
“There is a thin line we need to walk on,” said Yoav Cohen, creative and digital media director for the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum. “On one side, we wanted to create an experience; on the other side, we need to be very accurate with history.”
Interactive maps of Jerusalem from different periods of time allow viewers to see how the city developed. An interactive sphere, the first of its kind in Israel, shows the distance from hundreds of locations in the world to Jerusalem.
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The technology acts as a bridge between the old and the new, the ancient and the modern.
“We always had this challenge, to be accurate and engaging,” Cohen added.
As part of the journey through the development of the city, visitors can see a fully restored model of Jerusalem that was made in the 1870s and reflects the reality of the city at the time. Turning around to the windows in the room, the view is of current-day Jerusalem. It is then easy to see the change the city has undergone.
The galleries tell the 4000-year-old history of Jerusalem, tying it with the city’s sanctity to the three monotheistic religions. Three separate galleries are dedicated to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Models of the city before modern times and its holy sites adorn the exhibitions, some of them three-dimensional, together with small and large ancient artifacts. Some of those artifacts, dating back to approximately 1500 BCE, are being displayed for the first time.
“We try to tell a new story,” said Eilat Lieber, director and chief curator of the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum. “It’s an old story, but in a new way. By using technology, to tell the story of Jerusalem in different ways.”
“The challenge is to tell the complicated story of Jerusalem … because we’re talking about a very long history and of course the sacred city for the three religions,” Lieber told The Media Line.
There is the use of animation, video projection, and documentary. Much of the content is interactive, meant to engage the visitors as much as possible.
The entry gallery to the museum hosts a 12-meter multimedia wall, the largest in Israel. The different screens show different periods of the city, detailing what made that period unique and the political developments of the time. The animations are also attractive for children, who also have games on touch screens they can play.
Jerusalem’s complex reality is nothing new and is shown throughout the museum, with both modern and ancient displays employed.
During the project, the conservation of the ancient citadel walls and minaret was also undertaken. This process was done together with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in order to guarantee the integrity of the ancient findings remained intact.
An integral part of the planning process was the goal to make the museum as accessible as possible. Although because it is a preservation site it is exempt from an Israeli law in which access to people with disabilities needs to be guaranteed, the museum wanted to be accessible to as many people as possible.
“Our vision was to make the museum accessible for everyone. That each one of our visitors that arrived to the museum would be able to enjoy all our new exhibitions and the citadel, the archeological and the historical citadel,” Reut Kozak, head of inclusion and access at the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum, told The Media Line.
According to a statement released by the museum, 85% of the site is accessible with “newly leveled entrances to the ancient guardrooms, elevators, and ramps as well as modern infrastructure, technology, and networks.”
The museum’s most elevated observation point could not be made accessible by elevator, also because of limitations set by the IAA. Therefore, a virtual reality (VR) tour was developed for people in wheelchairs. There is also an audio tour for people with blindness and a visual guide in sign language is also being developed. The night sound-and-light shows, which portray Jerusalem’s story on the ancient walls, are also now accessible for hearing- and vision-impaired people through a phone app that can be used and adjusted according to one’s needs.
Once a month there is a “relaxed exhibition” which is adjusted for the autistic population.
The Clore Israel Foundation led the funding for the new Tower of David Jerusalem Museum. Also contributing to the funding were the Jerusalem Municipality, several government agencies, and other philanthropic institutions.
For centuries, Jerusalem has been the religious focal point for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The museum, with this ambitious endeavor, is trying to encapsulate this.
We wanted the experience to be deep and rich. It’s actually a key to understanding the meaning of Jerusalem, the core of Jerusalem. So it’s not just history, it’s identity. Because it’s our story, it’s your story, it’s their story.
“We wanted the experience to be deep and rich,” said Lieber. “It’s actually a key to understanding the meaning of Jerusalem, the core of Jerusalem. So it’s not just history, it’s identity. Because it’s our story, it’s your story, it’s their story.”
All the new exhibitions and galleries will be open to the public on June 1.
