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Settlements of the Moravian Church

Friday, 27 December 2024 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union
Category/Kategorie: General, Architecture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  4 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post The Moravian Brethren Settlements are a group of historic settlements founded by the Moravian Brethren, an evangelical free church. These settlements were recognized as a transnational World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2024. The World Heritage Site includes the settlements of Christiansfeld in Denmark, Bethlehem in the USA, Gracehill in Northern Ireland and Herrnhut in Germany.

The Moravian Brethren were founded by religious refugees / religious persecution from Moravia who had fled to Saxony to escape the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. Under the patronage of Nikolaus Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf, they found asylum in Herrnhut, Upper Lusatia, and founded the first settlement there in 1722. The Moravian Brethren developed into an important Protestant free church and founded over 30 settlements worldwide through their missionary work.

The settlements are characterized by their characteristic buildings such as community halls, churches and choir houses (communal apartments for unmarried men, women and widows) as well as by their symmetrical urban layout. Each settlement has its own architectural character, which is based on the original so-called “Herrnhut Baroque style” and has been adapted to the local conditions.

The urban planning of the settlements followed Baroque principles and was typically laid out in a simple, symmetrical grid with two main streets around a central square (Herrnhut and Gracehill) or along a main street (Bethlehem). The buildings were harmoniously arranged to reflect the Moravian ideal of community.

Herrnhut in Saxony, Germany, the “mother settlement” of the Moravian Church, was founded in 1722 and developed into a center of the movement. The settlement includes the historic town center, the Gottesacker (cemetery) and the Berthelsdorf estate. Many of the historic buildings are still used by the Moravian Church today.

Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, USA, founded in 1741, was the Moravian Church’s first permanent colony in North America. The settlement includes several significant buildings along West Church Street, the Gottesacker and the historic industrial district in the Monocacy Creek Valley. Bethlehem remains an active Moravian Church today with several congregations and educational institutions.

Gracehill in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, was founded in 1759 and is characterized by a strictly symmetrical layout, separated by gender and class. The settlement includes a central square with buildings on three sides, including the church, the Warden’s House and the Manse. Gracehill is home to an active Moravian congregation.

Christiansfeld in Southern Jutland, Denmark, founded in 1773 as a planned town, is known for its particularly well-preserved urban structure and uniform architecture with yellow brick buildings and red tiled roofs. The town plan follows the pattern of the Moravian settlements with two parallel main streets and the church in the center. It is the only Moravian church in Denmark with one of the largest pillarless church halls in the country. Praetorius Square forms the central market square with the historic Moravian Hotel, while Gudsageren (God’s Acre) serves as the community’s special cemetery. The settlement was the first to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

Read more on UNESCO.org – Moravian Church Settlements (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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