Stern House

The Stern House, (Hebrew: בית שטרן‎‎) is a preserved and reconstructed building in Jerusalem, Israel. The house was built under Ottoman rule in 1877 in the early neighborhood of Mamilla, outside Jerusalem's Old City west from the Jaffa Gate and was rescued during a major reconstruction of the neighborhood in the late 20th and early 21st century.

It is notable for the fact that in 1898, it served as the staying place of Theodore Herzl; also known as "The Visionary of the Jewish State" (Hebrew: חוזה המדינה‎‎). The house currently serves as the Jerusalem "flagship store" of the Steimatzky bookstore chain and includes an outdoor cafe, as well as a small museum.

The Stern House was built in 1877 for the Yehuda Stern family, recently emigrated from Germany. The Jerusalem quarters between the Old City walls were too crowded for the wealthy industrialist and his family, and with the new wave of people leaving the Old City and building new neighbourhoods outside its walls, Yehuda Stern purchased a plot of land from the Greek Orthodox Church in the then-new urban expansion area west of the Old City, on which he built a large European-standard house. Several generations of the Stern family lived in the building throughout its years of existence.

In November 1898 the German Emperor Wilhelm II arrived in town to make an historic visit. At the time, the Emperor was interested in the strengthening of the German influence in Jerusalem and the Emperor became involved in a number of, mostly religious affiliated, construction projects in the city. Theodore Herzl arrived to Jerusalem at the same time planning to meet with Kaiser Wilhelm and solicit his help in securing a Jewish homeland. Stern quickly discovered that the room Herzl had booked at a hotel was taken by the Emperor's entourage. Michael Stern, the son of Yehuda, received it upon himself to host the Zionist leader at his home, which became Herzl's base of operation for his stay in the city. Herzl remained at the house for 4 nights.

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