This is just a brief intro, a more detailed history of Sarona can be found on the internet.
Sarona (named Sharona, due to its proximity to the plains of Sharon), was established as a colony some 140 years ago by German Templers (Christians who came to the Holy Land). They believed that remaking their lives in the Holy Land would accelerate the Second Coming of Christ and the Messianic era.
In 1871, The Templers purchased 60 hectares of land from a Greek monastery north of Jaffa. Within a few months the foundation stones were laid for the first houses. In order to dry the marshy land, 1,300 eucalyptus trees were planted. By 1889 there were 41 homes, a communal hall, barns, sheds, a winery and workshops. The colonists brought modern farming tools and practices to the Holy Land. The settlement of Sarona became a model for the Jewish pioneers. By 1925, Sarona grew to an area of 492 ha, it remained a farming and commerce community.
Sarona was the first community , outside of Germany, to have a Nazi party chapter and the German Counsel's office in Tel Aviv flew the Nazi flag at full staff. In 1930's, the British, who controlled the land at the time, exiled almost 200 Templers to Germany after they were considered Nazi sympathizers. After WWII broke out, the British Mandate government turned Sarona and other German farming settlements into internment camps. The Germans left in Palestine were placed into those camps and all the military age men were put into a POW camp in Acre. In 1941 the British deported 500 Germans to Australia, and another 400 were repatriated to Germany.
After the war, Sarona became a British military and police base. It was taken over by Haganah on December 16, 1947 and renamed Camp Yehoshu'a. The Haganah and the IDF used the Templer buildings as their headquarters.
In 2005, in order to widen Kaplan street, five of the houses were moved 20 meters, at a cost of 10 million dollars. The houses were placed on new foundations. It took only two hours to move one house!
In 2008, the widened Kaplan Street opened.
The renovated complex of Sarona opened in the early 2014.
It is now a very popular destination full of great restaurants and stores.
More on Sarona Market next.
Joanna
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