History

School of Nursing

AVH, Snow

AVH aerial view

AVH, 1920

LWF School of Nursing

School of Nursing at AVH

Carpentry workshop on the Mount of Olives circe,1949

Scholarship recipients at Bir Zeit collage, 1983

Education for All

A heritage of service jubilee book

AVH: A History Shaped By Conflict

1910

The story of Augusta Victoria Hospital started in 1898 when the German Kaiser “William II” decided to build a guesthouse in Jerusalem to promote religious tourism

1914

The building was a headquarters for the Turkish military

1917

The building was taken over by General Allenby as headquarters for the British army before being returned to its original owner, the German Church.

1920

The High Commissioner for Palestine moved in and, for nearly a decade, the building served as the Government House for the British Mandate of Palestine.

1927

The building was damaged by an earthquake that took place in Palestine, which affected the tower of the building. After the renovation of the building, the height of the tower was reduced, but it preserved its characteristic architectural shape.

1930-1940

The Augusta Victoria building and the whole campus served as a “rest and relaxation” location for British soldiers until their departure and the end of the British Mandate on May 14, 1948.

1950

The Lutheran World Federation had formally established a presence in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan by 1949 and began working with the Red Cross and the United National Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) to convert Augusta Victoria into a hospital for Palestinian refugees. The hospital has since been run by the Lutheran World Federation and continues to this day.

Over the years, the hospital continued to provide services to all Palestinian people while preserving ancient Arab Palestinian history at the top of the Mount of Olives and in the heart of the city of Jerusalem.
The hospital witnessed many significant historical events in its halls, such as the signing of the Transjordan Emirate Agreement, as well as many other notable events in the history of the city of Jerusalem.
The hospital’s administrators were able to maintain the antiquity of this place. In addition to preserving its ancient and giant bells that were made in Germany and facilitating their transport from Jaffa's port to Jerusalem, introducing high-quality medical care as part of modern medicine did not compromise the maintenance of such valuable heritage. While the departments within the hospital are very modern, the mosaic flooring is preserved, which gives this place a touch of elegance and uniqueness.
Over the course of the last 73 years, the hospital has been occupying a large part of the sacred Palestinian land, striving to offer a specialized therapeutic and educational campus for all patients. The hospital aspires to increase the number of beds, medical and diagnostic facilities, and medical and scientific research in order to make the hospital a Palestinian hub for educational and medical activities within the city of Jerusalem. AVH demonstrates our existence and strengthens our resistance in Jerusalem, in addition to promoting the historical and natural bond between Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip.