Kinneret Courtyard (Hatzer Kinneret) is a historic compound on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee that served as a training farm for Jewish agricultural pioneers in the early 20th century. Established in 1908 by the World Zionist Organization, it was where young idealists from Eastern Europe learned to farm the land they hoped to settle. Many of the founders of Israel’s most famous kibbutzim, including nearby Degania, passed through these gates.
The Legacy
The courtyard’s graduates went on to establish the kibbutz movement, the Hashomer defense organization, and much of the agricultural infrastructure of pre-state Israel. The restored buildings house a museum documenting this pioneering period, and the lakefront setting is one of the most beautiful on the Kinneret.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Hoshen Tours includes Kinneret Courtyard in pioneer-themed itineraries around the Sea of Galilee, connecting the farming school to the kibbutzim it produced.