Mount Zion — hill and religious site in Jerusalem

Principal sites and landmarks

• Tradition of King David's Tomb — a site venerated by some visitors and communities as the burial place of David; the identification is a long-standing tradition and is treated with caution by historians (King David).
• The Cenacle (Room of the Last Supper) — a place traditionally associated with New Testament events and frequented by pilgrims from several Christian traditions.
• Dormition Abbey and other churches — several significant churches and monastic houses occupy the hill and its immediate approaches.
• Former cable car and museum — in the modern era a small cable car once connected parts of the hill to the valley below; remnants of that installation and its engine room have been incorporated into a local museum and historic hospital complex (cable car, valley below).

The name "Zion" itself has a complex history: in ancient sources it may have designated different sectors of Jerusalem at different times, including an early Jebusite fortress and later parts of the City of David. Over centuries the meaning of "Zion" broadened beyond the physical hill to become a religious and poetic symbol in Jewish and Christian literature.

Mount Zion's layers of occupation reflect Jerusalem's changing rulers and communities — from ancient and biblical associations through medieval periods (including Crusader and later Ottoman presence) to modern times when the site has been subject to archaeological study, conservation, and pilgrimage. Because the site's sacred associations are important to multiple faiths, some identifications (for example the location of certain biblical events) are kept as devotional traditions rather than settled historical facts.

Today Mount Zion remains a compact but multifaceted destination: it is a focus for worship and commemoration, a locus of small cemeteries and monastic life, and an object of scholarly interest. Visitors often combine its churches and memorials with walks through the adjacent Old City quarters. The term "Mount Zion" also persists in broader cultural and religious language as a metaphor for Jerusalem, homeland or spiritual ideal, distinct from the strictly topographical hill.