Bethlehem Moravian church settlement in Pennsylvania named World Heritage site
Located along Church Street in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the 1741 Gemeinhaus is as National Historic Landmark, home to the Moravian Museum, and is the only 1700s Gemeinhaus in the world. (Photo by Durston Saylor)
Known for its original Moravian architecture and annual Christmas festivities, the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is now the 26th site in the United States to be included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, joining the Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon National Park, and the San Antonio Missions, among others.
The designation, announced July 26, was over two decades in the making and is expected to significantly boost tourism to the city, located roughly 90 miles from New York City in eastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Moravian church settlements in Germany, Northern Ireland, and Denmark are also included in the World Heritage listing, which is the first transnational listing put forth by the US.
“It comes down to the outstanding universal value of this site, and the preservation effort to protect and preserve the structures and story,” said Craig Larimer, a spokesperson for Moravian University in Bethlehem. “But it’s really about the Moravians. You can’t tell one part of the story without the other. Without the Moravians and their ingenuity, industry, and sense of community, this wouldn’t be a thing at all. There wouldn’t be a Bethlehem.”
