Jerusalem, Schneller Orphanage
Schneller Orphanage, also called the Syrian Orphanage, was a German Protestant orphanage that operated in Jerusalem from 1860 to 1940. It was one of the first structures to be built outside the Old City of Jerusalem and paved the way for the expansion of Jerusalem in the 19th century.
The orphanage provided both academic and vocational training to orphaned boys and girls from Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Armenia, Turkey, Russia, Iran, and Germany.
Continuous building and land acquisitions increased the size of the orphanage grounds to nearly 150 acres by World War I.
At the beginning of World War II, the British mandatory government deported the German teachers and turned the compound into a closed military camp with the largest ammunition stockpile in the Middle East.
On March 17, 1948, the British abandoned the camp and the Etzioni Brigade of the Haganah used it as a base of operations during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence.
For the next 60 years the site served as an Israeli army base known as Camp Schneller. The army vacated the premises in 2008.
As of 2011, the compound is being developed for luxury housing.
