May 20, 2004

UNESCO has declared Tel Aviv a World Heritage Site for its treasure of Bauhaus architecture. Tel Aviv’s White City is home to more buildings in the Bauhaus style than anywhere in the world. The city will be inaugurated as a World Heritage Site on June 6, 2004, with a series of festive events over the course of three days marking the declaration and celebrating Bauhaus culture.

The White City of Tel Aviv includes 4,000 buildings representative of the Modern Movement – a synthesis of architectural styles popular in Europe during the early 20th century, heavily influenced by the Bauhaus School of Art and Design. These buildings, built between 1931-1956, were designed by immigrant architects trained in Europe who adapted the Modern style to suit Tel Aviv’s culture and climate.

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According to the UNESCO criteria for being declared a World Heritage site,"The White City of Tel Aviv is a synthesis of outstanding significance of the various trends of the Modern Movement in architecture and town planning in the early part of the 20th century. Such influences were adapted to the cultural and climatic conditions of the place, as well as being integrated with local traditions."

The City of Tel Aviv was founded in 1909, with Yafo joining the municipality in 1949. The White City was constructed based on an urban plan by Sir Patrick Geddes. Tel Aviv-Yafo is home to 400,000 residents, spread over an area of 50 square kilometers. With over 50% of Israel’s jobs in banking and finance, Tel Aviv is the country’s business center. A world-class cultural center, Tel Aviv-Yafo provides a rich and varied offering of art, music, dance, theater, fashion and cuisine.

Tony Illia