The Crusades and their lasting mark on the Holy Land

Many of the churches you'll visit in the Holy Land were built or rebuilt by Crusaders between 1099 and 1291 AD. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre as it exists today is largely a Crusader structure. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, and the magnificent fortress at Acre all date to this period.

The Crusades were a brutal chapter in Christian history. Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in 1099 and massacred the city's Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. For nearly 200 years, a series of European Christian kingdoms controlled portions of the Holy Land, building fortresses, churches, and infrastructure that still stands.

When you walk through Acre's underground Crusader city — remarkably preserved beneath the modern town — you're in the halls where knights ate, prayed, and planned campaigns. It's a reminder that Christian history in this land includes both saints and sinners, and honest engagement with that complexity is part of responsible pilgrimage.