The Paris Square (; ) also known as Hamra Square or the Churches District is a public square in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, located in Downtown Haifa. It was built during the

Ottoman period The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

History

The Hamra Square was a public space created in Haifa during the Ottoman period. It was surrounded by a market,

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

(St. Elias Carmelite Church) and

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

( St. Louis the King Cathedral, Haifa) churches, hotels, etc. In 1935; the

Carmelite order The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

commissioned Italian architect Giovanni Borra to design the area bordering on Paris Square (Khamra) from the north and adjacent to the Carmelite Monastery, which called later the "Carmelite Compound". The buildings were designed in the International Style with Tubzeh (split face) and Musamsam (light chiseled) stone cladding. The result: two spectacular three-story and five-story blocks on the corners that define Eliyahu Hanavi St., surrounded on both sides by a portico and comerece. In 1954, when the Israeli government commissioned the

Carmelit The Carmelit ( Arabic: كرمليت) is an underground funicular railway in Haifa, Israel. Construction started in 1956 and ended in 1959. It is the oldest funicular railway and underground transit system in the Middle East and was the only unde ...

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

subway system from a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

company, it decided to rename the area to Paris Square as a friendly gesture to the French. The station next to the square was named Paris Square as well. In 2018 the Paris Square Carmelit station was renamed Downtown Station. It is the lower terminus of the Carmelit. In 2011, the square was renovated, and its reopening ceremony was attended by the mayor of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the time,

Bertrand Delanoë Bertrand Delanoë (; born 30 May 1950) is a French retired politician who served as Mayor of Paris from 2001 to 2014. A member of the Socialist Party (PS), he previously served in the National Assembly from 1981 to 1986 and in the Senate from 19 ...

."HAIFA. Visite de M.Bertrand Delanoë, maire de la ville de Paris"
''Ambafrance.org''. June 2008.

Gallery

File:Place de Paris -Israel - 1920s.jpg, Hamra square in 1920 File:Hamra square - Haifa (3).jpg, Hamra square in 1934 File:PikiWiki Israel 70328 haifa downtown.jpg, Old house in Paris Square File:PikiWiki Israel 33565 Cities in Israel.JPG,

St. Louis the King Cathedral in Paris Square Il Carmelite Compound, Haifa.jpg, The Carmelite Compound in Paris Square File:Carmelite Church Kikar Paris.jpg,

Church of Elijah the Prophet in Paris Square

References

External links

* Squares in Israel Geography of Haifa Tourist attractions in Haifa Arab Israeli culture in Haifa {{Israel-geo-stub

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links