Mount Zion Jerusalem: The Cenacle, King David's Tomb and Dormition Abbey

The Hill Outside the Southern Wall

Mount Zion stands at about 765 m above sea level, just outside the southern wall of the Old City. The present walls were built under Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, with sources giving 1535 to 1542 or 1533 to 1540, and they run about 4.5 km around 0.9 square kilometres of walled city. Zion Gate (Sha'ar Tzion in Hebrew, Bab an-Nabi Dawud in Arabic) pierces that southern wall and was built in July 1540. The gate still shows bullet marks from the 1948 fighting, and its key was handed over on 13 May 1948 when British forces left. It was restored in 2008.

Zion Gate leads into the Old City between the Armenian and Jewish quarters, and Mount Zion lies just outside it. The gate is also one of the two entrances listed for the Armenian Quarter Jerusalem, which lies just inside it, the other being Jaffa Gate. For what each of the seven working gates does, read the page on the gates of Jerusalem Old City.

Where Is Mount Zion Located Today

Today the name points to the hill outside Zion Gate. That is where every site in this guide stands: the Cenacle and King David's Tomb in one Gothic building, Dormition Abbey, the Catholic cemetery with Oskar Schindler's grave, and the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu. Some of the Jerusalem Old City tours include Mount Zion, and the Jewish Quarter Jerusalem guide covers the quarter inside the gate.

Hours and Basics at a Glance

The table gathers the published opening hours for the Mount Zion sites so you can plan the order of your visit. Note the closures: the Cenacle shuts on Yom Kippur, St Peter in Gallicantu closes on Sundays and on 25 December and 1 January, and the Catholic cemetery closes at 16:00.

The Cenacle, the Room of the Last Supper

The Cenacle is the upper room of a Gothic building on Mount Zion, probably built in the 12th to 14th century. Christian tradition places the Last Supper here. Emperor Theodosius I probably built the Hagia Sion basilica on the site around 379 to 381. In 1524, under Suleiman, the Cenacle was converted into a mosque, and a mihrab still stands beside its Gothic vaults.

Hours are 8:00 to 18:00, with closure on Yom Kippur. The Franciscan Ad Coenaculum chapel is open Monday to Saturday 8:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:45 in summer, and 14:00 to 16:45 in winter.

King David's Tomb and the Attribution

The lower level of the same Gothic building holds the site venerated as King David's Tomb. It is open from 9:00 until sunset, according to the Christian Information Center's list. Zion Gate's Arabic name is Bab an-Nabi Dawud.

Most historians do not regard the Mount Zion site as the actual burial place of King David. The lower level of the building is where the tomb is traditionally placed.

Dormition Abbey and Its Hours Conflict

The Basilica of the Dormition is a neo-Romanesque church designed by Heinrich Renard. The land was bought in 1898 for 120,000 German goldmarks, the cornerstone was laid on 7 October 1900, Benedictine monks from Beuron arrived in 1906, and the church was dedicated on 10 April 1910. A crypt is reached by two spiral staircases.

The hours carry a conflict you should know before you go. The Christian Information Center's August file gives Monday to Saturday 8:00 to 17:00, while an older page on the same center's site gives 9:00 to 17:00. The dated file is the more recent figure, so plan for an 8:00 opening but treat 9:00 as possible. Sunday hours are 12:30 to 17:00 on both lists.

Oskar Schindler's Grave

Oskar Schindler is buried in the Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion. The cemetery opens 9:00 to 16:00, and a phone number is posted on the gate for days when it is locked. No entry fee is listed.

Church of St Peter in Gallicantu

The Church of St Peter in Gallicantu was completed in 1931 and belongs to the Assumptionists. Hours are Monday to Saturday 8:30 to 17:00, and it closes on Sunday, on 25 December and on 1 January. The shop is open 9:00 to 17:00 and is closed on Sunday.

The church closes on the same holidays as Pater Noster and other Christian sites in the city, so check the calendar if your visit falls in late December.

The Tours That Include Mount Zion

The Jerusalem Old City Walking Tour costs $57 per person, runs 4 hours from Jaffa Gate, and lists King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper among its stops together with the Western Wall, the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is guided only: entry fees are not listed as included, and food and drinks are excluded. It carries a 4.8 rating from 414 reviews.

The City of David Underground Tour costs $89 per person, runs 9 hours, and covers the City of David excavations, the Gihon Spring, the Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road before finishing with King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper. This one does include entry fees, a guide, an air-conditioned coach, and hotel pickup and drop-off. Food, drinks and gratuities are not included. It rates 4.5 from 20 reviews and includes about 3 hours of walking with tight spots, so it suits visitors comfortable with enclosed spaces.

Tours That do Not Reach the Hill

Worth knowing before you book on price alone: the Jerusalem Old City Half-Day Tour at $39, the Jerusalem Half Day Tour at $50, the Jerusalem Dual Narrative Tour at $65 and the Private Old City Four Quarters Tour at $500 per group do not list Mount Zion among their stops. If Mount Zion is your reason for a guide, book one of the tours above. If you would rather walk the hill yourself, the hours in the table earlier on this page are the starting point.

From Hagia Sion to a Mosque

The story starts with a basilica. Emperor Theodosius I probably built the Hagia Sion church on this spot around 379 to 381. The building that replaced it in the same tradition is the Cenacle, a Gothic structure probably dating from the 12th to 14th century. In 1524 Suleiman turned the Cenacle into a mosque, and a mihrab still stands beside its Gothic vaults today. That single room carries a Byzantine memory, medieval Gothic stonework and an Ottoman prayer niche in one visit.

The grandest building nearby is much newer. The Dormition Abbey land was bought in 1898 for 120,000 German goldmarks, the cornerstone was laid on 7 October 1900, and the church was dedicated on 10 April 1910. Heinrich Renard designed it in neo-Romanesque style, and Benedictine monks from Beuron arrived in 1906. Its crypt is reached by two spiral staircases.

Zion Gate and the Armenian Quarter

The gate that links the hill to the Old City has its own history. Zion Gate was built in July 1540 and its Arabic name, Bab an-Nabi Dawud, means gate of the Prophet David, a nod to the tomb tradition on the hill outside. The key was handed over on 13 May 1948 when British forces left, the gate was restored in 2008, and its stones still carry bullet marks from the 1948 fighting.

Walk through and you enter the Armenian Quarter, the smallest of the four, which is also reached from Jaffa Gate. If you would rather see the hill with a guide and transport, the City of David Underground Tour finishes on Mount Zion with King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper for $89 per person, entry fees included. For more on the walls themselves, see the gates of Jerusalem Old City.

Weather and Closing Days

Jerusalem averages a daily high of 30.3 °C in August, so summer walking between the Cenacle, Dormition Abbey and the cemetery is hot work. April is gentler at an average high of 22.0 °C, and January sits at 12.7 °C with 136.8 mm of rain, the wettest month. Across the year the city records about 3,397 hours of sunshine, so dry clear days are common outside winter.

Closing days matter too. St Peter in Gallicantu closes on Sundays and on 25 December and 1 January. The Cenacle closes on Yom Kippur. The Franciscan Ad Coenaculum chapel runs Monday to Saturday 8:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:45 in summer, an hour earlier at 16:45 in winter. Plan around those windows and the hill fits easily into any Jerusalem Old City tour itinerary.