BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A new Historic Bethlehem tour kicks off this weekend, and it may be different from the one you're used to.
The new World Heritage Tour is a 90-minute walking tour that, unlike the Old Bethlehem Walking Tour, allows visitors more than a passing glance into centuries-old Moravian structures.
A collaboration between Central Moravian Church and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, the new World Heritage Tour focuses on an approximately two-square-block area where the Moravians established their settlement in the 1740s, according to a release Friday from HBMS.
“The World Heritage Tour celebrates our rich history, culture and shared human heritage.”
“The 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,” said City of Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds. “The World Heritage Tour celebrates our rich history, culture and shared human heritage.”
The new tour will allow attendees the opportunity to go inside the 1741 Gemeinhaus, 1751 Old Chapel and 1803-1806 Central Moravian Church Sanctuary, if available. These are three of nine buildings included in the 10-acre Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem, the United States’ newest World Heritage Site, and its 26th.
“On the new World Heritage Tour, you’ll be led by guides who all have more than a decade of experience sharing the early Moravians’ history, and it’s really the only ongoing tour we offer in which participants can go inside both Central Moravian Church and the Old Chapel,” said Mark Demko, HBMS development and education coordinator.
“Plus it covers the three other Moravian Church Settlements that are part of the Moravian Church Settlements transnational World Heritage Site, to highlight the influence that the Moravian Church had not only on our growing nation but around the globe.”
The tour starts here
The World Heritage Tour begins at the Moravian Museum at 66 W. Church St., led by an 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 “firsts” in our fledgling nation, the release said.
Attendees can enter:
- 1741 Gemeinhaus (Bethlehem’s oldest building and the only 18th-century Moravian Gemeinhaus still in existence in the world)
- 1751 Old Chapel
- 1803-1806 Central Moravian Church Sanctuary (based on availability)
- God’s Acre (the cemetery that was the final resting place for Bethlehem-area Moravians from 1742-1911)
The rest of the tour stops include:
- 1744 Single Sisters’ House
- 1746 Bell House
- 1748 Second Single Brethren's House
- 1761 Tannery
- 1762 Waterworks
- 1768 Widows’ House
“Central Moravian Church is thrilled to be a part of the living heritage of the Moravian Church Settlements-Bethlehem World Heritage designation as we actively worship and practice our Moravian faith in the 21st century,” said Rev. Janel Rice, Senior Pastor. “These buildings represent a historic and living church that recognizes the 18th-century call to build community and treat each other with love and respect — as necessary today as it was for our Moravian ancestors.”
To the Waterworks
The new tour concludes on Main Street at the 1748 Second Single Brethren’s House, and the Colonial Industrial Quarter’s 1761 Tannery and 1762 Waterworks, the first pumped municipal water system in the country.
“The Moravians’ approach to city planning, education and industry were truly impressive for their time,” said HBMS Vice President and Managing Director Lindsey Jancay. “This tour is designed to give attendees an inside look at life in Bethlehem during the mid-18th century, while also shining the spotlight on all of the sites included in the Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem World Heritage site.
"Their story is one that will fascinate anyone who is interested in history, architecture, regional culture or heritage tourism.”
“From 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.”
Bethlehem’s Settlement is joined with Moravian Settlements in Christianfeld, Denmark; Gracehill, Northern Ireland; and Herrnut, Germany as a single World Heritage site, making it the United States’ only transnational World Heritage site.
The new tour takes place every Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at HistoricBethlehem.org or by calling 800-360-TOUR. Lehigh Valley residents get $5 off any ticket purchased between now through March 31, via promotional code LVWH2025, according to the release.
