News Release
Durston Saylor Photography
News Release Date: February 17, 2023
WASHINGTON – The National Park Service (NPS) submitted the United States’ first multi-country nomination to the World Heritage List for the first time in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention’s 50-year history. The nomination is for Moravian Church Settlements, which include the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, historic settlements of Herrnhut in Germany, and Gracehill in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.
The Bethlehem World Heritage Commission, established by the Mayor of Bethlehem, collaborated with representatives of Herrnhut and Gracehill to join the Moravian settlement of Christiansfeld in Denmark, which has been on the World Heritage List since 2015, to form a single World Heritage listing for all the Moravian Church Settlements. The settlements illustrate the global dissemination of the Moravian Church’s distinct religious and social ideals in the 18th century, which are expressed in the towns’ plans and architecture with many buildings still used for their original purpose.
The NPS is the principal U.S. government agency responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention in cooperation with the Department of State and manages all, or parts of, 18 of the 24 World Heritage Sites in the United States, two of which are cross-border sites with Canada.
The Historic Moravian District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is a National Historic Landmark and a mid- and late-18th century planned community created under the auspices of the original 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.
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. NPS has advised the Bethlehem World Heritage Commission and communicated with the governments of Germany, the United Kingdom, and Denmark on the development of the nomination.
This nomination will be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in the summer of 2024. The Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations elected from the members of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, will be advised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and makes the final decision on nominations.
The UNESCO World Heritage Convention seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. 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. Only 43 of the global listings are for “transboundary” (multi-country) sites.
Find more information on U.S. sites and the World Heritage nomination process at the NPS World Heritage Program website.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 424 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Last updated: February 17, 2023