St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem — Attraction in Jerusalem

St. Anne's (NIS 10 per adult) is a historical church in the Muslim Quarter off El-Ghazali Square in the Old City. There are several interesting things to see within the grounds of St. Anne's, making this a nice place to see between Temple Mount and Via Delorosa trail. Opening hours are 8-12pm and 2-6pm daily.

Here you find a Crusader church built in the early 12th century upon the grounds believed to be where the Virgin Mary's parents, Anne and Joachim lived. The church interior is large and open, you'll likely finding tourist choir groups singing hymns, taking advantage of the good acoustics at St. Anne's. There is a small crypt which is where the house of Anne and Joachim was supposedly located.

There is a beautiful small garden in the courtyard area at St. Anne's that was flush with blooms during our visit in early May. Further, you can see the important archaeological site of the Pool of Bethesda amongst the grounds. You can walk around and through the excavation site, which is also quite nice with spring blooms this time of the year.

Overall, we very much enjoyed our 30 minute visit to St. Anne's Church. It makes a nice addition to the nearby Via Dolorosa trail. We'd happily return for another visit during future trips...

We traveled to our Holy Land, The State of Israel, visiting many importnat historical places during our journey of faith.

Church of St. Anne is located at the start of the Via Dolorosa, near the Lion’s Gate & churches of the Flagellation & Condemnation, in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem.

It is erected near the remains of an earlier Byzantine basilica & over the site of a grotto believed by the Crusaders to be the birthplace of Anne, the mother of Mary.

It was completed in 1138 by Arda, widow of Baldwin I, 1st titled king of Jerusalem.

Unlike many other Crusader churches, St. Anne's was not destroyed by the Mamelukes who captured the Holy Land in the 12th century.

During the Muslim rule of Palestine, Christian pilgrims were only permitted inside the grotto after paying a fee. Currently St. Anne belongs to the French government & is administered by the White Fathers, an order of the Catholic Church named for the color of their robes.

One of the photos was taken of the book by the entrance, where visitor get to sign, and write a message: Mother, Let there be...

The Roman Catholic church, located at the start of Via Dolorosa in the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, was offered by the Ottoman Empire to France in 1856. It is one of four French territories in Jerusalem. In 1856, in gratitude for French support during the Crimean War, the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I presented it to Napoleon III. It was subsequently restored, but the majority of what remains today is original. The French government claims St. Anne belongs to the French government. Since 1878, it has been administered by the Missionaries of Africa, a catholic order, commonly called "The White Fathers", for the colour of their robes. Between 1882 and 1946, the site housed a seminar for the training of...