Fortress
Walls of Jerusalem
🇮🇱 Israel · 1st century BC
The Walls of Jerusalem (Hebrew: חומות ירושלים, Arabic: أسوار القدس) surround the Old City of Jerusalem (approx. 1 km2). In 1535, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent ordered the ruined city walls to be rebuilt. The walls were constructed between 1537 and 1541. The walls are visible on most old maps of Jerusalem over the last 500 years.
The length of the walls is 4,018 meters (2.497 miles), their average height is 12 meters (39 feet) and the average thickness is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). The walls contain 34 watchtowers and seven main gates open for traffic, with two minor gates reopened by archaeologists.
In 1981, the Jerusalem walls were added, along with the Old City of Jerusalem, to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.
Text adapted from “Walls of Jerusalem” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Walls of Jerusalem ranks #298 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #3 of the 24 mapped in Israel. Founded 18 BC, it is older than 99% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 8 atlas entries founded in the 1st century BC. See how Israel compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →Frequently asked questions
Where is Walls of Jerusalem?
Walls of Jerusalem stands in Israel, at 31.7747°, 35.2278°.
When was Walls of Jerusalem built?
The atlas dates its founding to 18 BC. Earlier structures may have stood on the site; this is the earliest documented founding year.
How famous is Walls of Jerusalem?
In this atlas's fame ranking: #298 of 7,044 worldwide, and #3 in Israel. Fame here combines how many Wikipedia language editions cover a landmark with how many people read them.
What is the nearest castle to Walls of Jerusalem?
Tower of David, about 1 km away.
More castles in Israel
- Arsuf Israel · 20th century
- Antonia Fortress Israel · 1st century BC
- Montfort Castle Israel · 13th century
- Belvoir Fortress Israel · 12th century
More fortresses
- Mangup Ukraine · 6th century
- Holstentor Germany · 15th century
- Diyarbakır Fortress Turkey · 6th century BC
- Roman Walls of Lugo Spain · 3rd century