| Historic Moravian Bethlehem District | |
|---|---|
 The Moravian Tannery Building | |
   | |
| Location | Church, Market and Main Streets,Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S |
| Area | 14.7 acres (5.9 ha) |
 Interactive map of Historic Moravian Bethlehem District | |
| Part of | Moravian Church Settlements |
| Criteria | Cultural: iii, iv |
| Reference | 1468bis-003 |
| Inscription | 2024 (46thSession) |
| Official name | Historic Moravian Bethlehem Historic District |
| Designated | October 6, 2012 |
| Reference no. | 12001016[1] |
| Official name | Historic Moravian Bethlehem Historic District |
| Designated | October 6, 2012 |
TheHistoric Moravian Bethlehem Historic District encompasses a complex of the oldest surviving buildings inBethlehem, Pennsylvania. TheNational Historic Landmark District is a subset of the largerCentral Bethlehem Historic District which is specifically focused on the early buildings constructed by theMoravians, who settled the city in the 18th century.
The district was added to theNational Register of Historic Places and designated aNational Historic Landmark in 2012 for its historical assemblage of communal religious buildings and history.[2]
In 2016, it was named to theU.S. Tentative List for nomination to theUNESCOWorld Heritage List.[3] During the 46th World Heritage Committee session in 2024, it officially became a World Heritage Site, together with other Moravian church settlements inDenmark,Germany, and theUnited Kingdom.[4]
The Historic Moravian Bethlehem Historic District occupies a discontinuous 14.7-acre (5.9 ha) area of central Bethlehem. Its central core consists of theMoravian Museum of Bethlehem and adjacent properties, located at Main and West Church Streets east ofMonocacy Creek, which is a tributary of theLehigh River inNorthampton County.
The museum property includes a connected series of 18th-century stone buildings which includes the1744-1772 Single Sisters' House and the1746 Bell House, both of which served as communal living facilities, and the1751 Old Chapel. Also part of the complex, theLewis David de Schweinitz Residence is aNational Historic Landmark for its association with botanist and mycologistLewis David de Schweinitz who used to take up residence in the building.
The museum also manages properties near the creek, including the industrial1761 Tannery building, andBethlehem Waterworks, which is also a National Historic Landmark as the first pump-driven North American municipal water supply. This area, known as theColonial Industrial Quarter, is also archaeologically significant, as the early Moravians developed it industrially from an early period.
Non-museum properties in the district include the 1803-06Central Moravian Church, theGod's Acre, a Moravian burial ground, and the 1758-60 MoravianSun Inn, located further up Main Street.[2] The Sun Inn was created as a place for non-Moravian people to stay when they visited Bethlehem at the time. The Sun Inn was used during theAmerican Revolution. Its guests during the era includedGeorge Washington,Martha Washington,Benjamin Franklin,Samuel Adams,John Hancock,John Adams, and other notable Americans of the 18th century.
Bethlehem was settled in 1741, and was the first successful community established byGermanMoravians inNorth America. It became a central point for later Moravian settlements across what the present-dayeastern United States. Because some of its earliest communal buildings were built in stone, they have survived into the 21st century. These buildings housed the community's single men and women, then segregated by gender, and served as the earliest places of worship in thecolonial era.
Bethlehem remained under strong Moravian religious influence until the early 19th century, when the community began to become more secular.[2] One of the living facilities segregated by sex in this area was called the Single Sisters' House and it is a place where single Moravian women would live before they were married. Widowed women lived in the Widows House, located across the street from the Single Sisters House. There were three significant additions to the Sisters House after it was built.
The original version of the Single Sisters' House was built in 1744 and was a two-story stone building that lacked a basement and a kitchens. At the time, a second version of the Sisters' House was constructed, adding a northern wing. The northern wing included a few new changes to building which were a new dormitory a larger dining area and in the later future a chapel.
The next addition that was made was the last addition made to the building. The addition included a building that was raised above the building on a basement and it was the first time that architectural detail was included in a Moravian building. The Single Sisters' House is located on West Church Street near the Bethlehem Public Library. The Single Brethren's House was a building that served the same purpose, except it was a place where single Moravian men would live. The Single Brethren's House is located on Main Street.
