White City (Tel Aviv)
As White City (Hebrew העיר הלבנה ha - ha - ʿ ir Lewana ) is a collection of over 4,000 buildings in Tel Aviv called, which were built mainly in the Bauhaus and International Style. The architects of these buildings were mostly German -born Jews who emigrated from Germany to the seizure of power by the National Socialists in 1933. Since 2003, the White City of Tel Aviv is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
As the White City was built, the city founded in 1909, Tel Aviv was a little more than 20 years old settlement of Jewish immigrants on the outskirts of Jaffa. Meir Dizengoff, Mayor of Tel Aviv in the years 1921 to 1936, commissioned in 1925 the Scottish town planner Patrick Geddes to design a master plan for the rapidly growing city. Geddes designed the road network and the investment of housing blocks and use of space; a certain style is not set by him. In the 30s, however, began primarily Jewish architects who had received their training at the Bauhaus Dessau, the new district to make their mark. After 1933, and especially after the entry into force of the Reich Citizenship Law in 1935, Jews in Germany was made in the operation of numerous professions increasingly difficult. Jewish architects were forced to leave Germany. Many of them settled down then in the former British Mandate of Palestine.
Over time many buildings of the White City have been considerably neglected, some were demolished or altered.
For the protection of the architectural heritage about 1,000 buildings have been declared a National Monument in 2009.