Venue
Wikimania 2011 will take place at the Haifa Auditorium, located at 138 HaNassi Ave. in the Carmel Center, Haifa, Israel.
interactive map of the Wikimania venue and its surroundings
The Haifa Auditorium
The Haifa Auditorium has been the annual host of the Haifa International Film Festival for the past 26 years, and the nearby Hecht building and Auditorium complex has hosted numerous conventions and events. The Auditorium has three large lecture halls, and the Hecht Building has three smaller halls, and several meeting rooms.
The Hecht building is a renovated historic building originally built as a hotel by the Templers during the late 19th century.
All rooms in the venue are air-conditioned.
The check-in facilities will be used for registration and receiving the delegates packs.
The entire site allows easy access to mobility-reduced participants.
The Main Auditorium Hall
The Auditorium has seating for 1,139 which may be extended to 1,453 (theater style).
Rapaport Hall
The Rapaport Hall is a modern auditorium which may seat 450 (theatre style). The main plenary sessions and talks will take place in this Auditorium.
The Haifa Cinematheque
The Haifa Cinematheque, seating 160 (theater style), is located underneath the Rapaport Hall. It will be used as a secondary location for talks and lectures and for the Wiki Academy event. At night it is used as an active Cinematheque.
The Hecht House
The Hecht House was built in the Templar style in 1893 by the Pros family from Germany. At that time, the Carmel Centre was a German colony named Carmelheim. The building was used as a Hotel until 1904, when it was sold to Martin Schneider who turned the building to a hostel for missionaries. In 1948 the building was purchased by the Rothschild family. Since 1959 the building has been used as a community centre named "Rothschild House". In 1990 the building was modified by the Hecht foundation and the house was renamed in 2002.
In this venue Hacking Days will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, 2–3 August 2011, and also other meetups.
During the conference three halls at the building will be used for talks and tutorials – two halls on the first floor (one seating 120, and one 60, classroom style), and one hall on the second floor (seating 60 classroom style).
Other rooms in the building will be used by the organizers, and as a prayer room and as a press room.
The Lounge on the third floor will be used daily between 8:00 - 23:00. Drinks will be served at the lounge during the night hours. The lounge will be also used for the lightning talks.
The Auditorium Garden
The Center's garden and foyer will be used for the opening welcome cocktail and the lunches.
Parking
The venue has a parking lot operating daily between 06:30 - 23:00. Parking cost NIS 20 (approximately $6) per day for continuous parking.
The Carmel Centre Area
Nearby is the Carmel Centre shopping and leisure district, which has several hotels of all values. The Carmelit (Haifa's metro) has a station nearby, making access simple and easy.
Getting to the Venue
- In Airport - getting to Haifa
- In Haifa - getting to the Venue
- Interactive map showing all stations and routes