World Heritage Tour

World Heritage Tour Overview

Explore the 26th World Heritage Site in the United States – Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem – on this exciting 90-minute tour.

This comprehensive tour of Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem’s buildings and sites focuses on the approximately two-square block area of historic downtown Bethlehem that the Moravian settlers recognized as the center of their community, as well as the living heritage and traditions that the Moravian Church Settlements still carry out today.

On this tour, you’ll discover the Moravians’ history as you start out at the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, in the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the only 18th century Moravian Gemeinhaus still in existence in the world. Next, you’ll visit the Bell House Courtyard to see the 1746-1749 Bell House, the First Single Brethren’s House/the Single Sisters’ House and the 1768 Widows’ House. Following this, attendees will step inside the 1751 Old Chapel and the 1803-06 Central Moravian Church Sanctuary before walking through God’s Acre cemetery, the final resting place for Moravians from 1742-1911. The tour concludes on Main Street with a look at the 1748 Second Single Brethren’s House and the 1761 Tannery and 1762 Waterworks in the Colonial Industrial Quarter.

After your tour concludes, you are invited to return to the Moravian Complex for a more in-depth tour of the Moravian Museum.

About Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem

Inscribed on the World Heritage list in July 2024, Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem is approximately 10 acres in size and includes nine buildings, four ruins and God’s Acre cemetery. Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem is joined with the Moravian Settlements in Christiansfeld, Denmark; Gracehill, Northern Ireland; and Herrnhut, Germany as single World Heritage site, making it the United States’ only transnational World Heritage site. The uniting of these four locations into a single World Heritage site is designed to highlight both the outstanding universal value of these well-preserved Moravian communities, as well as the Moravian Church’s influence around the globe. The living cultural traditions of the Moravians, including their timeless values of education, equality, innovation and spirituality, have helped shape their communities for centuries. Partners in the Moravian Church Settlements – Bethlehem World Heritage Site are City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Area Moravians, Central Moravian Church, Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites and Moravian University.