Mount of Olives (Jerusalem)

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Mount of Olives
Jewish cemetery on the southern Mount of Olives, seen from the southeast of the old town

Jewish cemetery on the southern Mount of Olives, seen from the southeast of the old town

height 809  m
location Jerusalem , Israel
Coordinates 31 ° 46 ′ 48 "  N , 35 ° 14 ′ 47"  E Coordinates: 31 ° 46 ′ 48 "  N , 35 ° 14 ′ 47"  E
Mount of Olives (Jerusalem) (Israel)
Mount of Olives (Jerusalem)

The Mount of Olives ( Hebrew הר הזיתים Har hasetim ; Arabic جبل الزيتون Jabal az-Zaitūn , both Olive Mountain ) in Jerusalem is an elevation northeast and east of the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem . From the Palestine War in 1948 to the capture by Israel in the Six Day War , the area wasoccupiedby Jordan ,with the exception of Mount Scopus , which still belongs to the range of hills. The name is derived from the original vegetation with olive trees . The range of hills reaches a height of 827 m; the actual Mount of Olives with the southern dome of the Ascension is 809 m high and is 120 m above the Kidron Valley and about 65 m above the Temple Mount.

Meaning of the Mount of Olives in the Abrahamic religions

The fame of the Mount of Olives results from its special importance in the tradition of Judaism , Christianity and Islam .

Judaism

According to Jewish belief , the Messiah will enter Jerusalem over the Mount of Olives and hold the Last Judgment in the Kidron Valley below the hill , according to the prophecy in the book of Zechariah . That is why an extensive Jewish cemetery was created on the slope of the mountain . The graves of the cemetery, which was badly damaged between 1948 and 1967, date partly from biblical times.

Christianity

Jesus and the sleeping apostles on the Mount of Olives . Depiction from the Hortus Deliciarum by Herrad von Landsberg (around 1180)

In the Christian tradition, the Mount of Olives is particularly associated with various New Testament accounts. So Jesus entered Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives ( Lk 19.28-40  EU ), he wept over Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives ( Lk 19.41-44  EU ). Before his crucifixion on Maundy Thursday evening, he was captured at the foot of the mountain in the garden of Gethsemane ( Mt 26  EU ) and ascended from the Mount of Olives to heaven after the resurrection (e.g. Lk 24.50  EU ).

For this reason every year on the afternoon of Palm Sunday there is a large procession from the Mount of Olives to the Lion Gate . On the feast of Ascension , the Catholic Church is allowed to hold a service in the Ascension Chapel.

A mount of Olives figuratively depicts the biblical scene of Jesus praying with his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before his crucifixion.

Islam

The Muslims share the belief that the Kidron Valley is the place of the end-time judgment ; According to their imagination , in the end times a rope will be stretched from the Temple Mount to the Mount of Olives, over which the righteous will cross; accordingly, there are also Muslim graves in the valley - on the Temple Mount side.

Churches on the Mount of Olives

Several churches were built on the Mount of Olives:

  • The Evangelical Church of the Assumption , 1907–1910 by Carl Gause and Robert Leibnitz, stands on the northern tip of the Mount of Olives near the Skopusberg . Its tower with a viewing platform is 65 m high. Built under Kaiser Wilhelm II and, together with the Auguste Viktoria Hospital named after his wife, belongs to the Empress Auguste Victoria Foundation on the Mount of Olives (also known as the Mount of Olives Foundation ), now based in Hanover.
  • The Ascension Chapel built by the Crusaders in 1152 . The remains of several churches and monasteries from the 4th to 6th centuries have been discovered in the vicinity. A neighboring Russian Orthodox monastery also claims to be at the place of the Ascension of Christ.
  • Dominus flevit (the Lord wept) is the name of a small Roman Catholic Franciscan church relatively high up on the slope. It was built in 1955 on the foundations of a Byzantine church from the 6th century in the shape of a tear and commemorates the mourning of Jesus for Jerusalem. The church is best known for its interior photos: Instead of an altarpiece, there is a barred window through which the view of the old town with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock falls. The altar and the window are oriented towards the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is located slightly to the right behind the Dome of the Rock. In the garden there are old Jewish and Byzantine graves and ossuaries .
  • The Russian Orthodox Abbey Church of the Assumption of the Lord , 1873 to 1881 by Gianbattista Bizelli, called Little Hagia Sophia in the Assumption Monastery on the Ascension or south crest of the Mount of Olives with a 64 m high bell tower, 1885 by Antonio Langodorchi
  • The Russian Orthodox Maria Magdalena Church is located in a higher part of the garden. Because of its seven gold-plated onion domes, it is particularly noticeable when looking from the old town; It was built around 1885 by Tsar Alexander III. The high-gloss gilding was carried out by the German gilding master Hans Kellner from Munich using 24-carat gold leaf from the Eytzinger gold beating company in Schwabach in 1998 and 1999.
  • The Roman Catholic Church of Nations in the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the mountain was built in the garden in memory of the desperate prayer of Jesus. The name is a reminder that several states contributed to its establishment in 1924. It has twelve domes that represent the twelve apostles. The floor plan of a previous church from the 4th century is still visible on the floor; A church was also built on this site during the Crusader period.
  • The Greek Orthodox Church at Mariengrab was first built in the 5th century over a burial site, which is considered the tomb of the Mother of God , in which, according to tradition, she lay until she was physically accepted into heaven . The graves of Mary's parents, St. Joachim and St. Anna and St. Joseph shown. Every year a few days before the feast of the Assumption (according to the Julian calendar) there is a procession from the city to the grave.
  • Next to this church is the “Treason Grotto”, in which Jesus is said to have been arrested. On the other side of the street is the Orthodox Stephen monastery, which is dedicated to the stoning of St. Stephen remembers.

There is also a Benedictine monastery and the Russian Orthodox Ascension Monastery with a high tower on the Mount of Olives .

Importance for tourism

In times of peace, the Mount of Olives is a popular destination for tourists, as the viewing platform above the Jewish cemetery offers a wonderful view of Jerusalem's old town. Most of the known close-ups of the Temple Mount and panoramic images of the old town come from the Mount of Olives.

Political importance

There are two important hospitals for the Arab population on the Mount of Olives: the Muslim Al-Mukassed and the Lutheran Auguste Viktoria Hospital . The road led over the mountain to the towns of Abu Dis , Bethany and Bethlehem . Since the construction of the Israeli barriers it is no longer possible to reach these places this way. Palestinians from the area around Jerusalem can therefore only visit these hospitals with an Israeli permit. The bus route that used to go to Al Quds University now ends at the Mount of Olives. In addition to the Church of Our Father, Jewish settlers maintain a base with an Israeli flag to affirm their claim to settlement rights in this area.

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See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Mount of Olives  - collection of images, videos and audio files