This news story about the United States’ submission of its Moravian Church Settlements to the UNESCO World Heritage List is based on a February 16, 2023, National Park Service press release. You can read the original release here.
For the first time in the 50-year history of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the National Park Service (NPS) has submitted the United States’ first multi-country nomination.
This new multi-country UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination is for the Moravian Church Settlements in three different countries.
National Park Service Submits Moravian Church Settlements as Multi-Country Nomination to UNESCO World Heritage List
Specifically, the nomination is for the following three sites:
- The Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- The historic settlements of Herrnhut, Germany
- Gracehill in Northern Ireland, 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 National Park Service said in a statement.
“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.”
Historic Moravian District in Pennsylvania Nominated as New UNESCO World Heritage Site
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.
In addition to advising the Bethlehem World Heritage Commission, the Park Service has also communicated with the governments of Germany, the United Kingdom, and Denmark on the development of the nomination.
National Park Service Is Responsible for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the United States
The NPS is the principal U.S. government agency responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention in cooperation with the Department of State.
For example, the Park Service 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.
You can see all 14 U.S. national parks that are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites here.
This nomination will be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in the summer of 2024.
Composed of representatives from 21 nations elected from the members of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the Committee 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.