HaTachana
After being closed and hidden from the public eye for many years, the historic train station complex located between the HaTachana Neveh Zedek neighborhood and the Mediterranean Sea has been re-opened to the general public.
The site, referred to simply as “HaTachana” (“The Station”) was the nerve center and bustling main junction for commerce in the Land of Israel.
The idea to establish this railway was first proposed in the 1830’s by Moshe Montefiore, who was interested in developing modern industry in the Land of Israel, but ran into difficulties in relation to the transport of machinery and raw materials.
At the end of a long process that entailed a combination of entrepreneurship, vision and international politics, in 1888 Turkish Sultan Abed el-Hamid granted the license to Yossef Navon, who was able to raise the necessary capital from Europe in order to to lay the tracks and build the stations.
It took two years to execute the immense railway construction project, and its completion heralded the beginning of the age of modern transportation in the Land of Israel.
In 1900, Templar Hugo Wieland returned from Germany to the Land of Israel and moved to his home near the train station, building his tile and brick factory alongside. This proximity to the railway allowed Wieland to transport his products efficiently to the Jaffa Port, where they were loaded onto ships and sent overseas.
The number of passengers increased over the years and in 1913, on the eve of WWI, some 183,000 passengers journeyed through the station. The Jaffa station operated on a regular basis almost to the eve of the War of Independence in 1948.
Today, the train station complex sprawls over some 20 hectares (49 acres) and includes 22 buildings from various periods, restored at a highly detailed level, totaling a built area of some 5,500 m².
The Tachana (“Station”) complex includes, among others, the historic train station, the freight terminal, Templar Hugo Wieland’s building materials and tile factory and the Wieland family’s home – “Villa Wieland”.
The Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Municipality developed and rejuvenated the complex as one of the city’s most charming spots, through urban planning company Ezra and Bitzaron and the Tachana Group, which includes Vitania Ltd. and Florentine A.M. Assets and Investments (2005) Ltd. Special emphasis was put on the restoration of the historic buildings’ original designs and on the open public area that was created between the restored buildings.