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Bethlehem mayor: World Heritage Site designation acknowledges ‘spirit’ of community
August 6th, 2024 | In The News
Written by Kat Schneider for WFMZ 69 News
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – During Tuesday night’s Bethlehem City Council meeting, Mayor J. William Reynolds discussed the inclusion of Bethlehem’s Moravian Church Settlements as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Reynolds recounted his four-day trip to New Delhi, India, where the vote allowed the settlements to join an esteemed group of historic locations in Denmark, Northern Ireland and Germany.
Located in the heart of downtown Bethlehem, the site spans 10 acres. It includes nine structures, four ruins, and God’s Acre cemetery — all within the already designated Historic Moravian Bethlehem National Historic Landmark District. It is one of only eight Landmark Districts in Pennsylvania and one of just over 200 in the nation.
Reynolds, who chairs the Bethlehem World Heritage Council and Commission, said it was a “thrill to hear people throughout the world who have been working on this for years, acknowledge not just our buildings but the spirit of what it means to be part of our community.”
That spirit was a large part of why the sites were selected, Reynolds said.
“The fact that we’ve now been recognized on the world stage will obviously be a benefit in terms of people wanting to come to Bethlehem,” the mayor said, “but it’s also a challenge to live up to the ideas that we’ve now been inscribed with, and that’s the idea that everybody matters.”
Reynolds said a service to recognize the designation will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Central Moravian Church.
