Abbey of the Dormition

Abbey of the Dormition tickets: which one to buy

The Abbey of the Dormition crowns Mount Zion, just outside the Zion Gate of Jerusalem's old city, and its round tower and conical roof are visible from much of the city. Entry to the church and the crypt is free. It sits a few steps from the room identified with the Last Supper and the building venerated as the tomb of King David, and all three are visited together on almost every walking tour of Mount Zion;

those tours are the easiest way to understand a hill where Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions overlap in the same buildings. Pilgrimage tours from Jerusalem usually allow half an hour here. A cafe run by the abbey stands in the courtyard and is a pleasant place to rest. The Benedictine monks who live here sing the offices, and visitors are welcome to attend. Dress modestly and expect a bag check at busy times. The Zion Gate is the nearest entrance from the old city and has a taxi rank outside.

Visiting Abbey of the Dormition: what to see

Christian tradition places the falling asleep of the Virgin Mary on Mount Zion, and churches have stood on this spot since the Byzantine period. The Ottoman sultan gave the ground to the German emperor Wilhelm II during his visit in 1898, and the present abbey was built by German Catholics and consecrated in 1910, designed by Heinrich Renard in a heavy neo-Romanesque style with echoes of Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen.

The upper church is a circular space under a dome, its floor inlaid with an elaborate mosaic of the zodiac, the saints and the names of prophets, and its apse covered in a gold mosaic of the Virgin and Child. Side chapels were donated by different countries. The crypt below is the heart of the visit: a round chamber with a life-size stone and wood figure of the Virgin lying in sleep, surrounded by columns and small altars and topped by a mosaic dome showing Christ receiving her soul. A small chapel off the crypt holds an ivory figure of Christ presented by the people of the Ivory Coast.

Abbey of the Dormition opening hours and the best time to go

The abbey opens in the morning, closes over lunch and reopens in the afternoon, with shorter hours on Sundays because of services. Early morning is quietest, before the tour groups arrive from the old city. Christmas and the feast of the Dormition in mid-August bring special liturgies and crowds of pilgrims. Mount Zion is exposed and hot in summer, and the walk up from the Jaffa Gate along the walls takes about fifteen minutes.

Jewish holidays and the Sabbath affect access to the neighbouring tomb of David, and security arrangements in the old city can change at short notice. Allow about forty minutes for the church and crypt, then walk through the Zion Gate, whose stones still carry the bullet marks of 1948, into the Armenian quarter. Concerts of sacred music are held in the upper church on some evenings, announced on the abbey website.