Visit Us
Walk through history as we guide you to things to learn, places to discover, and events that help connect us to our rich heritage.
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites — a National Historic Landmark District in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania — proudly preserves 20 historic sites in the heart of the city. We work to restore, educate, and learn all we can about these beautiful buildings and their storied pasts — including the first Moravian settlement from 1741.
Visit this unique museum highlighting the impact of the early Moravians on our growing nation. Located inside the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the oldest building in Bethlehem and part of the Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem World Heritage Site.
The site will be closed Saturday, 9/18 for Vintage & Harvest Market at Historic Burnside.
The Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts is housed in three interconnected mid-1800s homes featuring changing exhibits, period rooms, and galleries highlighting furniture, paintings, china, clothing, and silver.
The site will be closed Saturday, 9/18 for Vintage & Harvest Market at Historic Burnside.
Visit this reimagined 19th-century dry goods shoppe for artisan-made gifts, specialty foods, and Moravian Star ornaments. Located on Main Street and inspired by the original store run by John and Maria Elizabeth Schropp, it blends historic charm with a curated retail collection.
Start your visit at our Heritage Concierge Desk, where our team can help you purchase museum admission and tour tickets, gather trip information, and find the perfect souvenir. Located in what is believed to be the first brick residence in Bethlehem, the Goudie House sits within walking distance of most of our historic sites.
The site will be closed Saturday, 9/18 for Vintage & Harvest Market at Historic Burnside.
Watch trained blacksmiths demonstrate 18th-century metalworking at this functioning smithy, where craftsmen once made tools, locks, and hardware for the Moravian community. Reconstructed in 2004 on its original foundations using detailed Moravian Archives records, the Smithy sits within the Colonial Industrial Quarter.
Visit the home built for the miller who ground grain into flour at the neighboring Mill. Recently restored and soon to be connected to the Mill with the Overlook on History, the Grist Miller’s House sits at the gateway to the Colonial Industrial Quarter, America’s earliest industrial center.
The site will be closed Saturday, 9/18 for Vintage & Harvest Market at Historic Burnside.
Explore this rebuilt 1869 mill, now a multi-purpose space that hosts changing art exhibitions throughout the year in partnership with the Lehigh Art Alliance. Located in the Colonial Industrial Quarter, the Mill’s third floor is also home to the Historic Bethlehem Library and Archives.
Experience daily life as a Single Sister in the 1700s Bethlehem inside this limestone building, originally built for the Single Brethren before being given to the Single Sisters’ Choir in 1748. Located along West Church Street, it is part of the Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem World Heritage Site.
Visit the laboratory of what was, until its closing in the 1950s, the oldest pharmacy in continuous operation in the United States. Opened within the Gemeinhaus just two years after Bethlehem’s founding, the apothecary moved twice before settling into this 1752 laboratory behind the Moravian Book Shop.
Visit the only surviving 18th-century building built by and lived in by Indigenous Peoples in eastern Pennsylvania. Moved twice to save it from demolition, first from the village of Nain in 1765 and again in 1905, the house was later restored and opened as part of the Moravian Museum complex.
Discover the first pumped municipal water system in America, located within the Colonial Industrial Quarter, where an 18-foot waterwheel once lifted water 94 feet to serve the entire town. Recognized as a National Historic Landmark, Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and American Water Landmark, the Waterworks is also part of the Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem World Heritage Site.
Explore America’s earliest industrial center, where Moravian craftsmen established over 50 crafts, trades, and industries along the Monocacy Creek. Part of the Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem World Heritage Site, the Quarter includes the Grist Miller’s House, Smithy, Waterworks, and Tannery.
The grounds are open from dawn to dusk. For specific building hours, please refer to that building's hours.
Visit this 6.5-acre working farm, Bethlehem’s first privately held property, featuring a restored 1748/1818 farmhouse, a colonial summer kitchen, two 1840s barns, a working High Horse-Powered Wheel, and the Louise W. Dimmick kitchen garden. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Burnside hosts annual seasonal festivals throughout the year.
The grounds are open from Dawn-Dusk, the buildings are open during events.
Learn about the 1761 Tannery, where Moravian craftsmen turned raw hides into leather goods such as shoes, boots, saddles, and harnesses, producing about 3,000 hides a year. Sold by the Moravian Church in 1830 and later converted into a residence, the building was restored in the late 1960s and still stands today within the Colonial Industrial Quarter.
The building is currently not accessible. Learn more about the Tannery on the Colonial Industrial Quarter walking tour.
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