Bethlehem becomes a World Heritage Site

Following an effort two decades in the making, Bethlehem’s historic Moravian Church settlements have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site .

The decision was made early Friday at the World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, India, according to a city news release.

The Bethlehem settlements were nominated together with sites in Gracehill, Northern Ireland; Herrnhut, Germany; and Christiansfeld, Denmark, as a single World Heritage Site representing the Moravian Church’s historical value. The nomination marked the United States’ first multinational submission to the World Heritage List.

With the designation, Bethlehem becomes the 26th World Heritage Site in the United States.

The Bethlehem site spans 10 acres near downtown north Bethlehem and includes nine structures, four ruins and God’s Acre cemetery. It is already designated as the Historic Moravian Bethlehem National Historic Landmark District.

The Moravians, fleeing religious intolerance in Europe, arrived in Bethlehem in 1741.

Representatives for the city including mayor J. William Reynolds traveled to India for the meeting.

“As a proud native of Bethlehem, I know I speak on behalf of all those who call Bethlehem home in saying how much they look forward to welcoming visitors to this new world heritage site,” Reynolds said, addressing the World Heritage Committee at the livestreamed meeting.

Efforts to receive the World Heritage Site designation date back to 2002, when representatives from Christiansfeld, Denmark, a town founded by the Moravian Church, met with leaders from historic Moravian Church settlements worldwide, including Bethlehem. Those efforts picked up in 2017, when former Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez formed a commission to help further the city’s goal of having its own site .

City leaders have said the World Heritage Site designation would increase tourism. Some of the top heritage sites have millions of visitors each year. The designation also gives Bethlehem access to the World Heritage Fund, which supports maintenance and emergency damage repairs.

Craig Larimer, a project manager for Moravian University who helped oversee world heritage efforts, said a group of local organizations — including the university, Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites, Central Moravian Church and the city of Bethlehem — will soon launch a campaign to get the word out about the historic designation.

“Our obligation is to let people know what this is about, and why it’s significant, who the Moravians were and how they can get involved to help us tell the story,” Larimer said.

The World Heritage List was started in 1972 to “encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.” Other sites on the list in the United States include Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the Statue of Liberty in New York.

“These settlements in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, represent the very best of the United States,” said Jean Manes, the U.S. Acting representative to UNESCO, at the World Heritage Committee meeting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.