{"id":140387,"date":"2025-02-14T19:17:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T00:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=140387"},"modified":"2025-02-14T19:17:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T00:17:56","slug":"moravian-church-settlements-bethlehem-offering-new-world-heritage-tours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=140387","title":{"rendered":"MORAVIAN CHURCH SETTLEMENTS\u2013BETHLEHEM OFFERING NEW WORLD HERITAGE TOURS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured Image: Moravian Church Settlements\u2013Bethlehem World Heritage Site<\/i> <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Lehigh Valley Residents Can Save 20 Percent Off Tickets Purchased Through March<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/em>BETHLEHEM, PA\u2014Visitors to Historic Bethlehem will have the opportunity to discover the enduring impact of the Moravians on the United States and around the globe as they embark on the new\u00a0World Heritage Tour<\/a>\u00a0led by Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) costumed guides. The 90-minute guided walking tour, a collaboration between Central Moravian Church and HBMS, takes place every Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets for the tour are $25 and available now at\u00a0historicbethlehem.org\u00a0<\/a>or 1-800-360-TOUR.<\/p>\n

As a thank you to the Lehigh Valley\u2019s residents for supporting the efforts to have Bethlehem\u2019s early Moravian settlement enshrined as a World Heritage site, residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties will receive 20 percent off ($5 off) the cost of any tour tickets purchased between now and March 31. Lehigh Valley residents should use\u00a0Promo Code LVWH2025<\/strong>\u00a0to take advantage of the special offer.<\/p>\n

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Moravian Church Settlements\u2013Bethlehem World Heritage Site including a photo of the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the oldest building in Bethlehem. Photo credit for the Gemeinhaus photo is Durston Saylor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe City of Bethlehem and our World Heritage partners at Moravian University, Bethlehem Area Moravians, Central Moravian Church and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites are thrilled to invite the residents of the Lehigh Valley to explore our World Heritage site,\u201d said City of Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds. \u201cThe World Heritage Tour celebrates our rich history, culture and shared human heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Heritage Tour, which focuses on an approximately two-square-block area in Bethlehem where the Moravians established their settlement in the 1740s, gives attendees the opportunity to go inside the 1741 Gemeinhaus, 1751 Old Chapel and 1803-1806 Central Moravian Church Sanctuary (based on availability), three of the buildings that are included in Moravian Church Settlements\u2013Bethlehem, the newest World Heritage site in the United States. In addition, they will see all of the other buildings and sites included in the approximately 10-acre World Heritage site, the 26th<\/sup> in the nation.<\/p>\n

World Heritage Tours, which begin at the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, 66 W. Church St., Bethlehem, are led by a HBMS docent dressed in period attire and specifically trained to share the unique characteristics and innovativeness that led the Moravians to become a community of \u201cfirsts\u201d in our fledgling nation. During the tour, attendees will visit the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the Moravians\u2019 community house and first place of worship in Bethlehem. The 1741 Gemeinhaus has the distinction of being the oldest building in Bethlehem and the only 18th<\/sup>-century Moravian Gemeinhaus still in existence in the world.<\/p>\n

Tour attendees will also visit the 1751 Old Chapel, Bethlehem\u2019s second place of worship; and Central Moravian Church, whose sanctuary was completed in 1806. Plus, they will stop in the Bell House Courtyard to see the 1746 Bell House, 1744 Single Sisters\u2019 House and 1768 Widows\u2019 House, as well as visit God\u2019s Acre, the cemetery that was the final resting place for Bethlehem-area Moravians from 1742-1911.<\/p>\n

\u201cCentral Moravian Church is thrilled to be a part of the living heritage of the Moravian Church Settlements-Bethlehem World Heritage designation as we\u00a0actively worship and practice our Moravian faith in the 21st century,\u201d said Rev. Janel Rice,\u00a0Senior Pastor at Central Moravian Church. \u201cThese buildings represent a historic and living church that recognizes the 18th<\/sup>-century call to build community and treat each other with love and respect is as necessary today as it was for our Moravian ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Heritage Tour concludes on Bethlehem\u2019s Main Street with a look at the 1748 Second Single Brethren\u2019s House, as well as the Colonial Industrial Quarter\u2019s 1761 Tannery and 1762 Waterworks, the first pumped municipal water system in the country. Considered to be the U.S.\u2019 first industrial park, the Colonial Industrial Quarter was a thriving community of approximately 35 crafts, trades and industries during its height in the mid-1700s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Moravians\u2019 approach to city planning, education and industry were truly impressive for their time,\u201d said Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Vice President and Managing Director Lindsey Jancay. \u201cThis tour is designed to give attendees an inside look at life in Bethlehem during the mid-18th<\/sup>\u00a0century, while also shining the spotlight on all of the sites included in the Moravian Church Settlements\u2013Bethlehem World Heritage site.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom developing the first pumped municipal water system in America, to providing the same educational opportunities for both women and men, the Moravians were influential in helping to shape our country. Their story is one that will fascinate anyone who is interested in history, architecture, regional culture or heritage tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Heritage Tour offered by Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites and Central Moravian Church is the only guided tour that covers all the properties and sites included in the Moravian Church Settlements\u2013Bethlehem World Heritage site. In addition to the World Heritage Tour, all tour attendees receive free admission and a guided tour of the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem.<\/p>\n

Inscribed on the World Heritage list in July 2024, Moravian Church Settlements\u2013Bethlehem is joined with the Moravian Settlements in Christiansfeld, Denmark; Gracehill, Northern Ireland; and Herrnhut, Germany as a single World Heritage site, making it the United States\u2019 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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WORLD HERITAGE TOUR AT A GLANCE<\/u><\/strong>
\n90-Minute Guided Walking Tour<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go Inside\/Tour:<\/strong><\/p>\n