Zichron Ya’acov
The year was 1882.
High atop Carmel Mountain, 100 Romanian pioneers purchased a tract
of land in a place known in Arabic as Zammarin. They were members of
the Hovevei Zion movement and they dreamed of working and living off the land.
However, they were inexperienced, conditions were hard and the soil
was rocky. In addition, Malaria from the swamps at the foothills of
the Carmel presented a serious problem. The place would soon be known
as Zichron Ya’acov.
Today its center has been restored. It has a decidedly un-Israeli
look and feel, which may explain why it is a popular tourist spot for
Israelis and why relatively few tourists from abroad visit here (even
most of the material at the local tourist office, is in Hebrew). Many
tourists visit nearby Caesarea and are not aware that only minutes away lies a charming town where
the country’s first winery was established.
The main street, Rehov Hameyasdim (also known as Wine’s Way), is
lined with red-shingled buildings and gas type lighting that adorned
streets in a previous century. Part of the street is even paved with
cobblestones. An assortment of small shops, featuring the works of
local artists, café’s and restaurants are located here. Looking at
the street today, it is hard to imagine that in the past, it was
inhabited by farmers . In fact, it was originally called Farmer’s
Street.
There is plenty of history to be found in Zichron Ya’acov. This
was one of the first settlements under the auspices of Baron
Edmond de Rothschild (the other two were Rosh Pina and Rishon
Le’Zion). The Baron was called the Well-Known Benefactor or Hanadiv
Hayadua (as well as Father of the Settlement, or Avi Hayeshuv). In
Hebrew, Zichron Ya’acov is often referred to simply as Zichron.
Perhaps this is fitting, since the word comes from the same root as
the word Zikaron, which means memory and the settlement (Moshava) is
named after the Baron’s father, James Jacob de Rothschild. Nearby
Binyamina is named after the Baron.
Many of the settlement’s original settlers left, due to the
difficult conditions. In 1883 Baron de Rothschild took over the
settlement at which time organized town and agricultural planning
began. Different attempts were made to find the right agricultural
crop. After a number of failures, viniculture met with more success.
However, soon after establishing the winery in 1892 the grapevines
succumbed to phylloxera, a type of parasite. American-grafted
seedlings that were resistant to phylloxera were grown and the winery
flourished. The huge wine cellars that were carved into the mountain
a century ago are still in use today as part of the Carmel Mizrachi
Winery, a large commercial winery.
As you walk down Rehov Hameyasdim be sure to take note of the
signs on the various buildings. They provide information about
Zichron Ya’acov’s past, in small doses. Whether you decide to
attend an afternoon harp concert, visit one of the museums or simply
want to stroll the settlement’s main street, Zichron Ya’acov is
certainly worth a visit.
Zichron Ya’acov is located off Route # 652 between Route #70 and
Route # 4 (the Tel Aviv Haifa road). It is half an hour from Haifa and 15 minutes from Caesarea.
Sources: Copyright � 2000 Gems
in Israel All rights reserved. Reprinted
with Permission. |