Numbered Bricks in Mamilla
Stern House is a restored building located in the Mamilla neighborhood of Jerusalem, one of the only buildings that was not completely demolished during the reconstruction of the complex in the early 2000s.
The Mamilla neighborhood was established at the end of the 19th century near the Jaffa Gate, connecting the old city and the new city. Between 1948 and 1967, the neighborhood was adjacent to the no-man's land between Israel and Jordan, and its condition deteriorated. After the Six Day War, it was decided to demolish and rebuild the entire complex, in an ambitious, expensive and lengthy architectural plan. The restoration of the neighborhood and its rebuilding encountered many planning, economic and legal difficulties, which caused long delays. The project was finally completed only at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.
The Stern House was built in 1874 for the Stern family, a family of industrialists who immigrated to Israel from Germany. In 1898, the German Emperor Wilhelm II made a historic visit to Jerusalem. The emperor's entourage, which numbered about 200 people, completely filled all the hotels in the city. At the same time, Theodor Herzl, the father of Zionism, also arrived to visit Jerusalem, to meet with the Emperor and present his plans to him. Herzl discovered that the room he had booked at the Kaminitz Hotel had been transferred to the Emperor's attendants, and he was left without a place to stay. Michael Stern, a member of the family, took it upon himself to host Herzl in his home, and the Zionist leader stayed there for four days during his visit to Jerusalem. Herzl did manage to meet the emperor, but their conversation was disappointing and did not contribute to the promotion of the Zionist cause.
As part of the Mamilla neighborhood reconstruction plan, it was determined that most of the original buildings in it were to be completely demolished. The Stern House was also slated for demolition, but due to Herzl's historic visit, this raised a lot of opposition. After a harsh dispute that even reached the Supreme Court, the house was saved from demolition and went through a process of restoration and rebuilding. It was completely dismantled, its stones were numbered and in 2006 it was rebuilt, stone by stone, according to the numbers that remained as evidence of the reconstruction process. The restored building differs from the original house though, due to its relocation and the need to adapt it to the overall architectural plan of the entire street.
Today the house serves as the flagship store of the Stimatsky book chain.
(Anecdote authored by: עמיר)
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