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Bethlehem’s Moravian sites earn prestigious UNESCO World Heritage List spot at conference in India
July 26th, 2024 | In The News
By Nick Falsone | For lehighvalleylive.com
A decades-long effort to earn a prestigious worldwide recognition for historic Moravian sites in Bethlehem has paid off.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee voted to inscribe the sites while most of us were still sleeping. It happened at a summit in New Delhi, India, the City of Bethlehem announced Friday morning shortly after the vote about 3:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
“The historic Moravian Church Settlements of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania/USA; Gracehill, Northern Ireland/UK; and Herrnhut, Germany now join Christiansfeld, Denmark (already inscribed in 2015) as a single World Heritage site that represents the outstanding universal value of these historic settlements and the worldwide influence of the Moravian Church,” the city said in its announcement.
Bethlehem becomes the 26th World Heritage site in the United States.
The earliest the effort can be traced back to is 2002, when representatives from the Christiansfeld settlement invited Bethlehem to join a push to make the UNESCO list, along with other Moravian settlements across the globe.
In 2012, Bethlehem’s Moravian settlement was named a National Historic Landmark District — one of eight in Pennsylvania and 200 in the U.S. In 2017, it was given the World Heritage List’s “tentative” designation as a possible extension to Christianfeld’s entry.
The effort received a significant boost last year when the U.S. Department of the Interior officially nominated the sites.
World Heritage sites do not receive funding, but the designation signals to travelers that these are must-see tourist destinations. Officials hope inclusion will elevate Bethlehem’s reputation as a Colonial-era historic site.
Among tourist destinations that are already on the list: Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China.
“The designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is a profound testament to the unmatched historical and cultural significance of Bethlehem and the enduring legacy of the Moravian Church,” said Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, who chairs the Bethlehem World Heritage Council and Commission along with Bethlehem Area Moravians, Central Moravian Church, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, and Moravian University.
Read the article on Lehigh Valley Live’s website.
Reynolds, Moravian officials and others are among a delegation from Bethlehem that is in India for the conference. It runs until July 31.
