The city of Jerusalem underwent a turbulent history. One of the most violent events was, after two Jewish wars against the Romans, the destruction of the city and the creation of a new one called Aelia Capitolina by the Emperor Hadrian. When the Roman Empire stopped persecuting Christians in the 4th century, they started building churches in memory of Christ.

The project of a Byzantine Jerusalem’s model came up to remember these times. This reconstruction, however uncertain it may be, was intended to freeze a moment in Jerusalem’s religious history that will last for a few centuries.

This model was made in 2003 by Professor Jacques Briend, exegete and archeologist, and Jean-Claude Marmorat, architect and designer.