Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre

Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre
Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre
Saint-Jean d'Acre in Kingdom of Jerusalem, Israel
	Actual view of the commandery
	Flag of the Order of St. John
Coordinates	32°55′24.49″N 35°04′09.61″E / 32.9234694°N 35.0693361°ECoordinates: 32°55′24.49″N 35°04′09.61″E / 32.9234694°N 35.0693361°E
Type	Commandery
Site information
Owner	Knights Hospitaller
Controlled by	Knights Hospitaller
Site history
Built	12th century; 13th century
Built by	Knights Hospitaller
In use	1149-1291
Materials	Sandstone
Battles/wars	Siege of Saint-Jean-d'Acre (1189-1191); Siege of Saint-Jean-d'Acre (1291)
Events	Crusades

The commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre is a monumental complex founded by the Hospitallers. It is located in the city of Saint-Jean-d'Acre (today in Israel). In the 13th century, the commandery became the siege of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem until the fall of the city in 1291.^[1]

History[]

The first years[]

From the first years of the establishment of the Crusaders in the city, the Hospitallers received donated properties. In 1110, King Baldwin granted the Knights Hospitallers permission to keep the constructions located north of the Sainte-Croix church. In the years 1130, the buildings were damaged during works near the church and the Hospitallers decided to move near the 12th century north wall of the city. This is the actual place of the commandery.

In 1149, the first testimony of the commandery is in a document concerning the construction of the Saint-Jean church. In 1169, a pilgrim described the commandery of the Hospitallers of Acre as a very impressive fortified building.

Relocation of headquarters[]

After the defeat of Hattin in 1187, Saladin took the city. In 1191, during the third Crusade, the Frankish reconquered Acre after its siege. The Hospitallers moved back in their buildings. Jerusalem is no longer in the hands of the crusaders. And so the commandery becomes the new headquarters of the order. A new construction campaign took place between the end of 12th century and 13th century with new wings and additional floors.

Architecture[]

The inner courtyard[]

The courtyard has an area of 1200 m² and is surrounded by a series of arcades. On the east side, a staircase leads to the upper parts. A well with a depth of 4.5 m is located near the north side and two shallow pools are next to this well. On the south side a pool with a depth of 1.5 m and another well were built.

The north wing[]

This wing was built along the north wall. There are ten vaulted rooms ten meters high built during the Frankish era. The exterior wall is massive with a thickness of 3.5 m. Later to the west, two new rooms will complete this building. In the south wall, there are windows that overlook a narrow passage and the wall of the pillar room. The entrance of the building is in the south side wall.