Acre railway station

Ptolemais was an ancient port city on the Canaanite coast in the region of Palestine, in the location of the present-day city of Acre, Israel. It was also called Ptolemais in Canaan (or Akko, Ake, or Akre in Canaanite Language). It was an Ancient bishopric, which became a double Catholic titular see. In the Middle Ages, it was known as Acre amongst some Western European crusaders, who started a new, militantly Latin chapter there.

Acre ( AH-kər, AY-kər), known locally as Akko (Hebrew: עַכּוֹ, ʻAkō) or Akka (Arabic: عكّا, ʻAkkā), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies a strategic location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on the coast of the Mediterranean's Levantine Sea. Aside from coastal trading, it was an important waypoint on the region's coastal road and the road cutting inland along the Jezreel Valley. The first settlement during the Early Bronze Age was abandoned after a few centuries but a large town was established during the Middle Bronze Age. Continuously inhabited since then, it is among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth. It has, however, been subject to conquest and destruction several times and survived as little more than a large village for centuries at a time. Acre was an important city during the Crusades, and was the site of several battles. It was the last city held by the Crusaders in the Levant before it was captured in 1291. The population of the town was dramatically changed from 1948 to 1950; it had been almost entirely Muslim and Christian until May 1948 when three-quarters of the population fled following an ultimatum from the Carmeli Brigade. The town was then resettled by Jewish immigrants. In present-day Israel, the population was 49,614 in 2021, made up of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Baháʼís. In particular, Acre is the holiest city of the Baháʼí Faith in Israel and receives many pilgrims of that faith every year. Acre is one of Israel's mixed cities; thirty-two per cent of the city's population is Arab. The mayor is Shimon Lankri, who was re-elected in 2018 with 85% of the vote.

The siege of Acre was the first significant counterattack by Guy of Jerusalem against Saladin, leader of the Muslims in Syria and Egypt. This pivotal siege formed part of what later became known as the Third Crusade. The siege lasted from August 1189 until July 1191, in which time the city's coastal position meant the attacking Latin force were unable to fully invest the city and Saladin was unable to fully relieve it with both sides receiving supplies and resources by sea. Finally, it was a key victory for the Crusaders and a serious setback for Saladin's ambition to destroy the Crusader states.

The Sanjak of Acre (Arabic: سنجق عكا; Turkish: Akka Sancağı), often referred as Late Ottoman Galilee, was a prefecture (sanjak) of the Ottoman Empire, located in modern-day northern Israel. The city of Acre was the Sanjak's capital. Acre was captured by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I in 1517, but the city fell into disuse soon thereafter and was governed under the Sanjak of Safad during 16th-18th centuries. Acre was the center of the Nahiya of Acre, a subdistrict of the sanjak, which also included the villages of Buqei'a, Al-Tira, Julis, Kafr Yasif, Kabul and Shefa-'Amr. Acre was the center of a major economic boom under the leadership of Zahir al-Umar during the late 18th century. The Sanjak of Acre was created c. early 18th century as a prefecture of the Sidon Eyalet. The Sidon Eyalet later became known as the Acre Eyalet between 1775 and 1841 when Acre was designated as the eyalet's capital city. Following the promulgation of the Vilayet Law as per the then-ongoing Tanzimat, or administrative reforms, in 1864, the sanjak of Acre was annexed to the newly created Syria Vilayet. In 1888, the sanjaks of Acre, Latakia, Tripoli, Beirut, and Nablus were separated from the Syria Vilayet and transferred to the Beirut Vilayet.

The siege of Acre (also called the fall of Acre) took place in 1291 and resulted in the Crusaders losing control of Acre to the Mamluks. It is considered one of the most important battles of the period. Although the crusading movement continued for several more centuries, the capture of the city marked the end of further crusades to the Levant. When Acre fell, the Crusaders lost their last major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. They still maintained a fortress at the northern city of Tartus (today in north-western Syria), engaged in some coastal raids, and attempted an incursion from the tiny island of Ruad, but when they lost that as well in 1302 in the siege of Ruad, the Crusaders no longer controlled any part of the Holy Land.

Napoleon Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Acre, Israel. It was mostly used for football matches and hosted the home games of Hapoel Acre. The capacity of the stadium was 5,000 spectators at its peak. The stadium is now used for Hapoel Acre training. The stadium was named for the famous general Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Or Torah or Djerba Synagogue is a Tunisian synagogue in Acre, Israel, built after the El Ghriba synagogue on Djerba. The building was erected in 1955. The building is covered with millions of mosaics inside which have been manufactured at Kibbutz Eilon. The building has 140 stained glass windows and a dome.

Al-Manshiyya (Arabic: المنشية), was a Palestinian village with a Muslim orphanage and a mosque known as the mosque of Abu 'Atiyya, which is still standing. The area just north of the village was a garden planted by Sulayman Pasha, who was the ruler of Acre in the early 19th century, named Arabic: قصر بهجي, Qasr Bahjī, mansion of delight; today this is known as the shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, who was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith.

Western Galilee College (Hebrew: המכללה האקדמית גליל מערבי) is an academic college in northern Israel within the jurisdiction of the city of Akko. It was founded in 1994 on the basis of its predecessor, the Western Galilee Regional College, which was founded in 1972.

The Treasures in the Walls Museum (Hebrew: מוזיאון אוצרות בחומה) is an ethnographic museum located in Acre, Israel. The museum is dedicated to show the craftsmanship of the city of Acre.

The el-Jazzar Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الجزار, Masjid al-Jazzār; Hebrew: מסגד אל-ג'זאר, Misgad al-G'zar), also known as the White Mosque of Acre, is located on el-Jazzar Street inside the walls of the old city of Acre, overlooking the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and is named after the Ottoman Bosnian governor Ahmad Pasha el-Jazzar.

The Acre Prison break was an operation undertaken by the Irgun on May 4, 1947, in the British Mandate of Palestine, in which its men broke through the walls of the Central Prison in Acre and freed 27 incarcerated Irgun and Lehi members.