The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was founded by Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine I. Building began around 326, and the church was consecrated on September 13, 335. Al-Hakim ordered its destruction on October 18, 1009. A rebuilding that focused on the rotunda was completed in 1048, and the Crusaders, who took Jerusalem in 1099, reconstructed it in the 12th century. Its styles are Paleochristian and Romanesque.
The rotunda's dome collapsed in a fire in 1808, and the Aedicule, the shrine over the tomb of Jesus, was rebuilt in 1809 and 1810. A restoration of the Aedicule ran from May 2016 to March 2017 and cost $4 million.
A decree of 1853 fixed how the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches share the building. A ladder on a ledge has stood untouched since at least 1757. The Nuseibeh family, who are Muslim, keep the door. Entrance is generally free, and visitors are expected to dress modestly.
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