Editing Templers (Radical Pietist sect) (section)

==Early settlement in Palestine==
{{main| German Templer colonies in Palestine}}
[[File:German colony in Haifa 1875.JPG|thumb|[[German Colony, Haifa|German colony]] in [[Haifa]], 1875]]
Hoffmann and Hardegg purchased land at the foot of [[Mount Carmel]] and established [[German Colony, Haifa|a colony]] there in 1868. At the time, [[Haifa]] had a population of 4,000. The Templers are credited today with promoting the development of the city. The colonists built an attractive main street that was much admired by the locals. It was 30 meters wide and planted with trees on both sides. The houses, designed by architect [[Jacob Schumacher]], were built of stone, with red-shingled roofs, instead of the flat or domed roofs common in the region. Hard work, the harsh climate and epidemics claimed the lives of many before the colony became self-sustaining. Hardegg stayed in Haifa, while Hoffmann moved on to establish other colonies.

In the same year, [[Bahá'u'lláh]], the prophet-founder of the [[Baha’i Faith]], arrived in the Haifa-Akka region as a prisoner of the [[Ottoman Empire]].  Years later, after his release from strict confinement, he visited the Templer Colony on Mount Carmel several times and wrote a letter to Hardegg.<ref>''[https://bahai-library.com/lambden_hardegg Tablet to Hardegg (Lawh-i-Hirtík): A Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to the Templer Leader Georg David Hardegg]''.</ref> He asked his son, ‘Abdu’l-Baha, to build, on the alignment of the Templer Colony road (Carmel Avenue) but halfway up the mountain, the [[Shrine of the Báb|shrine]] to the forerunner of the religion (who was known as "the [[Báb|Bab]]").<ref>''Door of Hope'', by David S. Ruhe, pp. 189–193 et al. George Ronald, publisher, 1983</ref> The conjunction of the Templer buildings and the Shrine have become the most significant landmark in the modern city of Haifa.

[[File:Templar buildings in the Sharona colony on Kaplan Street 2.jpg|thumb|The remains of Templer buildings of [[Sarona (colony)|Sarona]] in [[HaKirya]], [[Tel Aviv]]]]
Hoffman established colonies in [[American–German Colony|Jaffa]] a year later, and two years later, in 1871, a third colony in [[Sarona (colony)|Sarona]], as the Templers' first agricultural colony, on the road from [[Jaffa]] to [[Nablus]]. In 1873 a fourth colony was established in the [[German Colony, Jerusalem|Valley of Refaim]] outside [[Jerusalem]]'s Old City.<!-- This use of this image has no rationale on the image's page. Please read [[Wikipedia:NFCC#10c]] [[File:Jaffa Oranges.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The Jaffa Orange Brand]] -->

The colony's oranges were the first to carry a "[[Jaffa orange]]" brand<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-22 |title=The Screwy History of the Modern Knights Templer - History |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/history/articles/knights-templer-palestine-robert-rockaway |access-date=2026-02-11 |website=Tablet Magazine |language=en}}</ref>, one of the better known agricultural brands in Europe, used to market Israeli oranges to this day.

The Templers established a regular coach service between Haifa and the other cities, promoting the country's tourist industry, and made an important contribution to road construction.