Rishon LeZion Museum

At the heart of the city, in the historic site of the Founders’ House, stands the Museum of the history of Rishon LeZion, which tells the story of the Moshava (small town), the first of the settlements of the First Aliyah (1882). The museum combines a marked and signed self-tour through the town’s first houses with the view of the old Moshava in the background.

The museum contains fabulous exhibitions, exposing the visitors to the lives and deeds of the first settlers, which lay the foundation for the future state. The exhibition emphasises the role of the Moshava as creator of the national symbols: the flag, “Hatikva” (Israel’s national anthem), renewal of the Hebrew language, the first Hebrew school and more. 

What’s at the site: the museum is located in buildings dating from the early days of settlement: Medicine House, Chemist’s Flat, the “Posta”, the “Clinic”, the house of the founder, Eliezer Elhanan Shalit, the stable in its courtyard and the water well.
The well holds an audiovisual display telling the story of water finding. The buildings are reconstructed and present authentic furniture and objects of the period as well as various exhibitions, including: “Man and his land”, presenting agriculture in Rishon LeZion, “Fashion in the old days”- Moshava figures dressed in periodic costumes and more.
New! The basement in which Naftali Herz Imber, author of “Hatikva”, lived and an exhibition on Rishon LeZion, the birthplace of the national anthem.

For the general public: guided tours through museum exhibitions, self-tours of the “Founders’ Trail”, leading to signed historic sites of the pioneers’ settlement, where you will meet the Moshava Bell, the Moshava Kiosk at Founders’ Square, and “old day barber shop” and more.

For children: tailored guidance for different ages and on various subjects, creative workshops and assignment sheets about the exhibitions.