Qiryat Chaim
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Qiryat Chaim (Hebrew: קריית חיים) is one of five towns of the HaQerayot urban area in Israel, part of a conglomeration of five smaller towns located about north of Haifa in the Haifa District, which as of 2003 contains 40,000 residents.
The town was founded in 1933 and was named after Chaim Arlosoroff who was murdered the same year. Qiryat Chaim is technically a neighborhood in the Haifa municipality. It is informally divided into East Qiryat Chaim (older neighborhoods) and West Qiryat Chaim (newer) by the railroad tracks. The area between the tracks and the sea included many sand dunes until the early 60s when urban development overtook most of them. In an unusual urban planning, based on the socialist founding of the town, high rises were built for the poor and immigrants right on the beach with the best views. Qiryat Chaim's beaches are some of the best public beaches in northern Israel.
Among the notable sports team in Qiryat Chaim's history was its weight lifting team, which was one of the best in Israel. Ze'ev Friedman who was killed in the 1972 Munich massacre right after placing 6th in the world was the most prominent member of the team.
The town absorbed many immigrants who arrived in the large aliyah from the former Soviet Union after 1990.
Qiryat Chaim is within the municipal borders of the city of Haifa, and lies on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
The town is served by the Qiryat Chaim Railway Station.