News Release
Date: February 4, 2022
Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov
WASHINGTON—For the first time in United States history, the National Park Service (NPS) will participate in a multi-country nomination to the World Heritage List. NPS will assist the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, providing guidance through the complex and technical requirements of the World Heritage program on the development of the nomination and will coordinate with other participating countries.
In 2015, the Moravian settlement of Christiansfeld in Denmark was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Two years later, the Historic Moravian District was added to the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List as a potential “extension” to that inscription. A World Heritage Commission, established by the Mayor of Bethlehem, is collaborating with the German settlement of Hernnhut and Gracehill in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom tojoin Christiansfeld as a single World Heritage listing.
The World Heritage List recognizes cultural and natural sites of universal importance such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Currently, there are 1,154 sites in 167 countries on the List, including 24 World Heritage Sites in the United States, two of which are cross-border sites with Canada.
“World Heritage Sites are unique places of natural, historic and cultural importance that are treasured by people of all nations,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “The carefully preserved buildings and setting of the Bethlehem district are the United States’ contribution to a global phenomenon in which the Moravians created settlements expressing their egalitarian values in many countries. The World Heritage Convention offers us a way to highlight and honor this connection in cooperation with other countries, and for the world to recognize its value.”
The Historic Moravian District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a National Historic Landmark, is a mid- and late-18th century planned-community created in conjunction with the larger Moravian congregation in Herrnhut, Germany. Bethlehem became the religious and administrative center of Moravian activities in North America. It consists of religious, domestic and industrial components, showing the full scope of Moravian community life in a North American context. The Moravians’ egalitarian philosophy, welcoming people of all backgrounds and educating women as well as men, was unusual for its time, and is expressed in their urban planning.
The NPS manages all or part of 18 of the 24 World Heritage Sites in the United States. It is also the principal U.S. government agency responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention in cooperation with the Department of State. The NPS is undertaking this effort with full cooperation of the property owners concerned, which include the City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Area Moravians and Moravian University.
The final decision on inclusion on the list will be made by the World Heritage Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations elected from the members of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, and advised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. The date of the actual submission of a nomination will depend on when the detailed documentation package is completed. The Department of the Interior will consult on the completed document with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage before making a final decision to submit it to the World Heritage Committee. Inclusion of a site in the World Heritage List does not affect U.S. sovereignty or management over the sites, which remain subject only to U.S. law.
Find detailed information on the World Heritage Program and the process for the selection of U.S. sites.
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Last updated: February 7, 2022