Set on the outskirts of old Nazareth, the Nazareth Village is built on ancient agricultural land that boasts the area’s last remaining first-century wine press. The original farm has been restored with its ancient wine press, terraces, irrigation system and stone quarry, and exact replicas of first-century houses, a synagogue, a watchtower, mikveh and olive presses have been carefully constructed using the original building methods and materials.
Together, these elements form the Nazareth Village, an authentic first-century farm and archaeologically accurate re-creation of the hometown of Jesus with real ties to the life and time of His friends, family and fellow Nazarenes. Nazareth Village is an open-air museum in Nazareth, Israel, that reconstructs and reenacts village life in the Galilee in the time of Jesus.
The village features houses, terraced fields, wine and olive presses all built to resemble those that would have been in a Galilee village in the 1st century. Muslim and Christian living history enactors dress in period costume and show visitors how farm, domestic, and craft work was performed two thousand years ago.
Pilgrims to the Holy Land typically only see the dead stones of ancient ruins, but the geographical and cultural nuances of Jesus’ teaching are often crucial to understanding their full meaning. At Nazareth Village, bible scenes are brought to life by “villagers” who populate the farm and houses, living and working with the same type of clothing, pottery, tools and methods that Mary and Jesus would have used. Gifted and knowledgeable guides lead visitors through a living representation of the parables of Jesus within their original context before offering the opportunity to seal the experience with an authentic biblical meal.
As part of the Nazareth Trust, which runs the nearby Nazareth Hospital, Nazareth Village is a not-for-profit organisation that covers most operations through entrance fees and gift shop sales. However, it welcomes contributions to cover programmes for children, biblical and archaeology courses, and especially the ongoing preservation and development of the Nazareth Village site.
