At the very end of the the 19th century Sultan Abdul Hamid II gave a plot of land on Mount Zion to Wilhelm II German Emperor when he visited Jerusalem. The Kaiser donated a sum to build a temple for the Virgin Mary. This became the Church of Dormitio Beate Mariae Virginis, placed in the care of the Benedictines (Abbey of the Dormition) in 1906.
It was built in a style that amalgamates neo-Romanesque and Middle Eastern Muslim building traditions, giving resemblance to the Aachen Cathedral for example. It was designed by Heinrich Renard.