Bethlehem’s Moravian Church settlement now World Heritage Site – WHYY

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The Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been added to the World Heritage Sites list, which recognizes natural and historical sites for their cultural impact on humanity.

The Moravian Church settlement becomes the 26th such site in the United States, including two others in Pennsylvania: Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and Stewart Township’s Fallingwater in Mill Run, a property designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The settlement in Bethlehem joins settlements in Herrnhut, Germany and Northern Ireland; the three areas combine as an extension of the Moravian settlement in Denmark, which was added to the list in 2015, and will form a single World Heritage listing for Moravian Church Settlements.

Bethlehem’s settlement serves as a prime example of Moravian architecture and town planning. The settlement played a key role in both the international and American Moravian communities.

The 10-acre settlement in downtown Bethlehem includes nine structures, four ruins and God’s Acre cemetery. The Moravians began building their community back in 1741, with the goal of being the principal center for the church in the American colonies and West Indies.