Welcome to Bet Tabor and STI

Maybe the nicest house of Jerusalem

Bet Tabor is the residence of the Swedish Theological Institute STI in Jerusalem, ow-
ned by the Church Sweden since 1951. This is a place for meeting between people, a
place for sharing knowledge and inspiration, but also a place for worship, since the
house has its own Chapel with services held regularly.

The house was build by the city engineer Conrad Above the windows Conrad Schick build arches, to
Schick, as his private residence 1882. make it strong and beautiful. The arches of the ceilings
The former mayor of Jerusalem Teddy Kollek said indoors also give the house its strong characteristic.
some years ago as visiting Bet Tabor: ”This is maybe
the nicest house of Jerusalem”. The house also has its own Chapel with some inte-
resting icons. The Chapel hosts the local Swedish pa-
The house is build with hand rish.
cut stone, both lime and sand
stone. It has many interes-
ting and beautiful details.
Schick build it as his master-
piece, mixing both European
styles and Oriental traditions
and put many archaeological
findings into it.
For example the arches abo-
ve the windows, the corners
and the top stones of the roof
and all the details around do-
ors and windows.

Above the entrance door is a

small port house for a guard
watching who is coming in. There is a whole in the
floor for him to poor liquid upon unexpected guests -
so please keep alert!
 Dr. Conrad Schick
City engineer, Archaeolog, Architect, Model builder
As young Schick was trained as an apprentice car-
penter, and as he lived close to Switzerland he also
was taught to repair watches.

At he age of 20 he moved to Basel for practical and

theoretical studies that later took him and another fel-
low to Jerusalem in order to build up a Brotherhood
in the city. The trip from Basel to Jerusalem took
them 7 weeks.

His first year in Jerusalem was hard with a weak

health and a poor economy. He started a hostel for
vocational training of young Arab boys apparently
without home. Later he joined the Anglican ’House
of Industry’ for practical education of young Jewish
boys.

That led him into making models of the city and the
holy places. These models were sold or exhibited by
the Ottomans or Europeans. His models were master-
pieces both as art and as a depiction of the contempo-
rary situation. One of his models took him 8 years to
finish. All together he made 16 different models.
Schick was born in Bitz in southern Germany 1822,
moved to Jerusalem at the age of 24, married and
stayed her until his death 1901, for 56 years!

Mea Shearim build for the Orthodox Jews coming

from East Europe and The Talita Kumi Orphanage
at King George Street are some projects planned by
him.

As a resident of Jerusalem he soon became the per-

son that know most about both ancient and present
days. He was often enrolled as an assistant for British
and German archaeological excavations. His specia-
lity was topography. He later developed a skill for
archaeology and soon he himself became the leader
of a number of projects. For many years he wrote
articles for German and British journals.

Schick also performed as an architect and is still

known for a number of projects in the new parts of
Jerusalem.