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WFMZ: Push to get Bethlehem in the international spotlight getting an assist from overseas
October 19th, 2021 | In The News
Written by Justin Backover for WFMZ
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bethlehem is getting some help from across the Atlantic in its quest to name the city’s Moravian Settlements an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Michelle Muntefering, the Deputy Foreign Minister of International Cultural Policies for Germany, presented a letter confirming an agreement of collaboration between Germany and the U.S. for a nomination for a number of Moravian sites, including those in Bethlehem.
“When it’s come to World Heritage – it’s not only about the past. It’s mostly about the future and that is the good thing of it,” Muntefering said.
The Moravians founded Bethlehem in 1741- what was supposed to be the center for Moravians in the New World, right where Monocacy Creek meets the Lehigh River. It’s one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, going back to 1457.
“I think the magnitude in that is incredible and I don’t think people are as aware of what that means,” said Downtown Bethlehem Association Manager Tammy Wendling.
Wendling says this would be a huge win for the city’s economy.
“In Denmark there is an area called Christiansfeld and it’s a Moravian settlement and they had seen an increase – seven times the amount of tourism that they had prior to becoming a World Heritage Site,” Wendling said.
Putting it on par with the Great Wall of China and the pyramids in Giza.
“You think world travelers from all over are going to come here and that makes it different because now we’re not just looking at the fall season or Christmas time. Now we’re looking at year-round activity,” Wendling said.
