BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A local delegation is in New Delhi, India, representing the city and its Moravian Church settlement in a bid for a spot as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
With the right vote, Bethlehem could join an existing World Heritage site at Christiansfeld, Denmark, through an extension with fellow Moravian site nominations at Herrnhut, Germany, and Gracehill, Northern Ireland.
Stephanie Augello, city chief of staff and World Heritage coordinator, said the UNESCO World Heritage Committee may consider the nomination of the Moravian Church settlements between 12:30-3:30 a.m. on Friday.
“Historic Moravian Bethlehem introduces a settlement that is strongly influenced by topography and does not illustrate the classic continental European plan."UNESCO website
Those up burning the midnight oil may tune into the live stream here.
A vote in favor would put Historic Moravian Bethlehem among 25 other sites nationally and 1,199 worldwide, including the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef.
UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Not quite like the rest
The historic area in Bethlehem up for a vote comprises 10 acres on the city’s North Side, including landmarks such as Central Moravian Church, the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the 1744 Single Sisters’ House, God’s Acre Cemetery and the Colonial Industrial Quarter.
“Historic Moravian Bethlehem introduces a settlement that is strongly influenced by topography and does not illustrate the classic continental European plan,” UNESCO’s website reads.
“It demonstrates clear, functional differentiation between residential and industrial, with an exceptional group of early classic Moravian Church buildings (including the only extant Gemeinhaus in the series, and all choir buildings represented) and a clearly zoned industrial quarter with important buildings.”
Looking back
The path in getting to this point has taken years.
The Department of Interior submitted the transnational nomination back in February of last year, while a local World Heritage Committee has been on top of the process for some time now.
A description on UNESCO’s website describes Historic Moravian Bethlehem as “the first and best-preserved colony settlement in North America.”
The site reads that buildings along West Church Street, God’s Acre Cemetery and the Colonial Industrial Quarter “together form an exceptional example of urban planning in North America.”
UNESCO's website reads that buildings along West Church Street, God’s Acre Cemetery and the Colonial Industrial Quarter in Bethlehem “together form an exceptional example of urban planning in North America.”
A World Heritage consultant came to town last March to visit the historic area in person.
He said the governments involved in the potential bid for international recognition agreed the sites upheld “outstanding universal value.”
Moravian history in Bethlehem dates to 1741 after the people fled central Europe to find religious freedom.
The new settlement was christened on Christmas Eve that year.
