The Hebrew University Campus on Mount Scopus

In the summer of 1918 the cornerstone for the Hebrew University was laid on the top of Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. It was inaugurated seven years later in an impressive ceremony, due to its being the first university in the Land of Israel. Throughout the years more structures were added to it but the extension works were stopped at the beginning of the Israeli War of Independence, when the area has turned into an Israeli enclave in a demilitarized zone. It was only after the Six Days War that the vast campus familiar to us today was built. Architecture lovers still argue about its aesthetic and functional values and it offers a few lovely observation balconies which overlook the Old City of Jerusalem. Next to the Mount Scopus Hebrew University Campus is a large and charming botanical garden (not to be confused with the University’s Botanical Gardens which is located at the Giv’at Ram Campus), which was renewed and renovated a few years ago and is a wonderful destination for a visit in itself.