The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tel Aviv White City is one of the best areas to visit in Tel Aviv for history and architecture lovers. A walk among the impressive Bauhaus buildings will tell you many of the city’s fascinating stories, and show you some of the most beautiful places in all of Tel Aviv. Here is the ultimate guide to visiting the impressive White City of Tel Aviv.
The History of Tel Aviv White City
Tel Aviv was established in 1909, and in its first decades, was built in an eclectic style, without any guidelines or common features. In the middle of the 1920s, when Tel Aviv began to grow to the dimensions of a real metropolis, the city officials decided that it was necessary to improve the planning of the city and to coordinate the style of construction in it. To this end, they planned to build an area in the north of the city that would be built in the unique style of a garden city.
The construction plan was approved in the early 1930s and was carried out by graduates of the Bauhaus design school in Germany, many of whom were Jewish students who immigrated to Israel. Thus, between 1931-1956, about 4,000 houses were built in the Bauhaus style in Tel Aviv. Today, they form the biggest collection of such buildings in the world, which turned the White City area into the impressive site it is today, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.
The Bauhaus style
The international style, commonly known as “Bauhaus”, is an architectural style that emphasizes the usefulness of the houses, and makes any non-useful elements unnecessary.
The international style is easily recognizable. It features straight and simple lines, without arches and columns, domes, or tiled roofs. The houses and the elements in them, such as windows and openings, are mainly square, but combine elements of basic geometric shapes, with round balconies and long and narrow windows. The balconies in these houses intentionally protrude, in order to provide shade for the floors below.
Over time, the architects of the White City developed a unique style for Tel Aviv, which stemmed, among other things, from the climate differences between Germany and Israel. They significantly enlarged the windows and built roofs over them, designed ventilated houses according to the wind directions, built pergolas on the roofs to create a place for gathering and even sleeping on hot nights, And above all, enlarged the balconies that characterized the city, in order to provide an escape from the heat for Tel Avivians.
Tel Aviv White City areas
Rothschild Boulevard area
The best way to experience the White City is to walk on Rothschild Boulevard, which includes some of the most well-known Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv. It’s best to start your tour on the northwestern side of the boulevard, or Rothschild blvd 3, and walk northeast from there. The area along the boulevard is the biggest concentration of Bauhaus buildings, with 239 of them in a very small area.
Bialik Square Area
A very small area, northeast of Rothschild, where you can see 49 different Bauhaus buildings. Most of the houses along the boulevard that goes south from Tel Aviv City Hall along Rabin Square are built in the Bauhaus style, but are a bit more modern, as they combine some other elements as well.
Northern Central Tel Aviv
A bigger area, where the Bauhaus buildings are a bit more spread out. This area of Tel Aviv includes some of the city’s most famous landmarks, like Dizengoff Square, Habima Square, Chen Boulevard, and Ben Gurion Boulevard. While walking in this area, which is one of the most beautiful and vibrant parts of Tel Aviv, you can see hundreds of unique Bauhaus buildings, alongside more modern ones.
Tel Aviv White City’s famous building
Beit Hahagana – Rotschild 23
In this house lived Moshe Sharett, the former Prime Minister of Israel, and members of his family, including Eliyahu Golomb, commander of the Hagana organization, the leading Zionist organization in Israel in the days of the British Mandate. From here, Golomb managed the defense of the Zionist settlement, and in this very house, some of the most important decisions were made during this difficult time. Those include the decisions on the Tower and Stockade operation, several immigration operations, the establishment of the Palmach, which formed the basis of the IDF, and more.
Today, there is a small museum here, which tells the story of the Jewish settlement in the land of Israel during the British mandate, and the history and operations of the Hagana organization.
Bauhaus Museum – Bialik 21
A small museum, which is dedicated to the Bauhaus style. Here, you can learn about the history and philosophy of this unique style, and see vintage Bauhaus items from the 1920s and 1930s.
Operating hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 9:30-20:00
Friday: 9:30-15:00
Saturday and holidays: closed
Dizengoff House and Independence Hall – Rotschild 16
This house was built in the location of two major historic events. In 1909, a famous shell raffle between the founders of Tel Aviv was held here and divided the soon-to-be-built city between the 66 of them. Then, On May 14, 1948, this house hosted the announcement of the establishment of the State of Israel. The announcement was made by David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, in a short ceremony of about 32 minutes.
This is the home of Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv, a position he served from 1911 until his death in 1937.
Dizengoff’s house was built in 1910 as a one-story house, and in 1934, was changed to what we see today – an impressive building in a simplistic Bauhaus style.
Today the place is used as a historical museum for the history of the announcement of the establishment of Israel. On the upper floors of the building, there is a small bible and Jewish culture museum, which was established in memory of Meir Dizengoff’s wife, Zina.
