World Heritage Tour

Overview

Visitors to Historic Bethlehem will have the opportunity to discover the enduring impact of the Moravians on the United States and around the globe as they embark on the new World Heritage Tour led by Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) costumed guides. The 90-minute guided walking tour, a collaboration between Central Moravian Church and HBMS, takes place every Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets for the tour are $25 and available now at historicbethlehem.org or 1-800-360-TOUR.

The World Heritage Tour focuses on an approximately two-square-block area in Bethlehem where the Moravians established their settlement in the 1740s, gives attendees the opportunity to go inside the 1741 Gemeinhaus, 1751 Old Chapel and 1803-1806 Central Moravian Church Sanctuary (based on availability), three of the buildings that are included in Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem, the newest World Heritage site in the United States. In addition, they will see all of the other buildings and sites included in the approximately 10-acre World Heritage site, the 26^th in the nation.

Tour attendees will also visit the 1751 Old Chapel, Bethlehem’s second place of worship; and Central Moravian Church, whose sanctuary was completed in 1806. Plus, they will stop in the Bell House Courtyard to see the 1746 Bell House, 1744 Single Sisters’ House and 1768 Widows’ House, as well as visit God’s Acre, the cemetery that was the final resting place for Bethlehem-area Moravians from 1742-1911.

The World Heritage Tour concludes on Bethlehem’s Main Street with a look at the 1748 Second Single Brethren’s House, as well as the Colonial Industrial Quarter’s 1761 Tannery and 1762 Waterworks, the first pumped municipal water system in the country. Considered to be the U.S.’ first industrial park, the Colonial Industrial Quarter was a thriving community of approximately 35 crafts, trades and industries during its height in the mid-1700s. This tour is offered by Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites and Central Moravian Church is the only guided tour that covers all the properties and sites included in the Moravian Church Settlements–Bethlehem World Heritage site. In addition to the World Heritage Tour, all tour attendees receive free admission and a guided tour of the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem.