RAMAT HA-NADIV GARDENS

The gardens of Ramat Ha-Nadiv (the Benefactor's Hills) are the resting place of Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) and his wife Adélaïde (1853-1935), who enabled the first Jewish communities of the Zionist movement to settle in the area. Their bodies, temporarily buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, were repatriated here in April 1954. In 1936, Baron James de Rothschild initiated the creation of the gardens in their present form for his late parents. Israel's leading architects were invited to submit their designs for a simple, dignified crypt carved out of the rock and surrounded by a large garden with flowers all year round. Architect Uriel Otto Schilleret and landscape architect Shlomo Weinberg Oren were selected. Work was not completed until 1954.

The gardens extend over eight hectares, with large, shady lawns. Several varieties of flowers bloom throughout the seasons in plantations criss-crossed by paved paths and surrounded by a forest park of over 500 hectares. The Fondation de Rothschild supports research into fauna, flora and archaeology. One of the most beautiful archaeological sites is Horvat Eleq, home to the remains of a villa dating from the Second Temple period, certainly inhabited by wealthy Jews until the second half of the ^1st century. A booklet containing hiking and walking itineraries in the park is available at the visitor information center.