Christian Quarter

[2] The convention of the boundaries of the Christian Quarter have originated in its current form in the 1841 British Royal Engineers map of Jerusalem,[3] or at least Reverend George Williams' subsequent labelling of it.

[4] The city had previously been divided into many more harat (Arabic: حارَة, romanized: Hārat: "quarters", "neighborhoods", "districts" or "areas", see wikt:حارة).

[5] The table below shows the evolution of the area which was to become known as the Christian Quarter, from 1495 up until the modern system:[6] During the 4th century, Emperor Constantine's mother, Helena, journeyed to the Holy Land, aiming to engage in acts of charity and establish churches, particularly in locations associated with significant events in the life of Jesus Christ.

This legend, widely recognized in Late Antiquity, is detailed in Jacopo de Varazze's 13th-century Legenda Aurea, which not only recounts the myth surrounding the cross but also commends Helena as an exemplary Christian within the Catholic Church.

As a bold statement for Christianity in this part of the city, she oversaw the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Over the centuries, additional religious institutions and churches were erected nearby, forming a community of Christians.

[8] In the 19th century, European countries sought to expand their influence in Jerusalem and began constructing several structures in the Christian Quarter.

The Ottoman authorities attempted to halt European influence and established rules for buying land in the area, but personal interventions from the heads of those countries, including Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Joseph of Austria, led to construction of some buildings for those countries' religious and secular authorities.

In 1889, the Ottomans accepted the request of the European countries and breached a new gate in the Old City walls, in the area of the new development.