Moravian Church Settlements

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The Moravian Church Settlements in Herrnhut (Saxony, Germany), Bethlehem (Pennsylvania, United States of America), Gracehill (Northern Ireland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), and Christiansfeld (Jutland, Denmark) were established according to overarching planning principles that reflected the ideals of the Moravian Church, as expressed in their plans and democratic organisation. Herrnhut, founded in 1722 as the “mother settlement”, is a testimony to the original Moravian urban and architectural design principles, as well as the key attributes of the Church’s spiritual, societal, and ethical ideals. Bethlehem, established in 1741, is the first permanent, best-preserved, and most important Moravian Church settlement in North America. Gracehill, developed in 1759 and featuring a grid-like plan focused on a village square, is the best-preserved Moravian Church settlement on the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Founded in 1773, Christiansfeld, with its intact central square and impressive collection of buildings, presents the best-preserved example of a northern European Moravian Church settlement. Each architectural ensemble bears witness to the Moravian Church’s vision of a unified, coherent urban design, inspired by the concept of an “ideal city” developed by the Church during its formative phase in the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries.

All four settlements have distinctive Moravian buildings, including a particular type of Gemeinhaus (congregation building), church, and choir houses (large structures designed as communal dwellings for unmarried men, unmarried women, and widows), as well as a nearby God’s Acre (cemetery). Each settlement has its own architectural character based on an original Moravian Church Civic Baroque style but adapted to local conditions. Together, these settlements represent the transnational scope and consistency of the international Moravian community as a global network. Present today in each component part is an active congregation whose continuation of traditions forms a living Moravian heritage.

Criterion (iii): The transnational series of Moravian Church settlements bears exceptional testimony to Moravian Church principles, which are expressed in their layouts, architecture, and craftsmanship, as well as the fact that numerous buildings are still used for their original functions or for the continuation of Moravian Church activities and traditions. The Herrnhut, Bethlehem, Gracehill, and Christiansfeld settlements, each possessing an exceptional range of tangible and intangible attributes, represent a vibrant worldwide network in which no settlement or congregation exists in isolation. Together, they highlight the Church’s influence in colonisation processes and missionary work, and its structure as a network during its formative phase during the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. The continuing presence of Moravian Church communities in each of the settlements ties their historic layouts and structures to the living cultural tradition of the Moravian Church and to the larger Moravian Church community.

Criterion (iv): The transnational series of Moravian Church settlements are an outstanding example of religious town planning, within the Protestant tradition, combining both the spiritual aspects and the practical considerations of community life. Each architectural ensemble bears witness to the Moravian Church’s vision of a unified, coherent urban design, inspired by the concept of an “ideal city” and anticipating Enlightenment ideals of equality and social improvement that became a reality for many only much later. The democratic organisation of the Moravian Church is expressed in its humanistic town planning and important buildings for the common welfare, and in the visual and functional connections between individual elements and with the landscape setting. These settlements, established during the formative phase of Moravian Church settlements, stand for the movement towards democratisation, offering the same standard of living to all its members and advancing the well-being of the group. Each settlement possesses distinctive functions and illustrates unity through homogeneous groups of buildings with shared styles, materials, and proportions (each adapted to local conditions), together with a high quality of craftsmanship.

Integrity

The transnational serial property includes all the attributes necessary to convey its Outstanding Universal Value, and is of adequate size to ensure the complete representation of the features that express its significance. The property comprises four component parts that together illustrate the origins, evolution, and global spread of Moravian Church settlements during their formative phase. They represent the continuing religious heritage, each sharing a common set of attributes while contributing to the series, including through distinctive geographical and cultural reach, representative variations in urban plans, exemplars of specific building types, regional contributions in architectural style and local construction materials, temporal sequence of establishment, and linkages with other settlements and mission stations.

Urban plans remain legible and are largely intact. Visual and functional relationships within the settlements and, in some cases, with surrounding landscapes, are still largely extant and readable. None of the settlements suffer from neglect and none are threatened by irreversible change.

Authenticity

The transnational serial property is substantially authentic in terms of location and setting, form and design, materials and substances, and workmanship. Many of the buildings remain in use by the Moravian Church. The continuity of the Moravian Church community contributes to safeguarding the authentic spirit and feeling as well as atmosphere of the serial property. The presence of an active community in each settlement sustains a living Moravian Church cultural tradition.

Most of the residential units have modernised interiors to be in line with contemporary living standards whilst aiming to retain their authenticity wherever possible. In some cases, renovations could have been implemented with more respect for authenticity, and aspects of historic construction materials and techniques could have been retained. Future modernisations, including interiors, should pay special attention to the conservation of historic fabric. Conservation and maintenance programmes should be developed for the key attributes, and the use of appropriate conservation techniques and materials should be ensured.

Protection and management requirements

Each component part of the serial property benefits from protection guaranteed through legislation and spatial planning regulations anchored in the respective protective mechanisms of each State Party. Responsibility for the protection of each of the component parts of the property rests with the national, regional, and/or local authorities, as the case may be.

The Moravian Church community has for the past three centuries provided traditional protection of its buildings through the requirements of the Church for their use, and remains very active in upholding its religious and social services. Such activities also sustain the spiritual, social, and ethical principles that underpin the significance of the settlements.

An overall management system for the transnational serial property has been established, with an International Management Plan and action plan approved by all key stakeholders. An International Governmental Committee, made up of national World Heritage Focal Points and/or a representative of the highest monument or heritage protection authority, will be responsible for matters at the level of States Parties and their obligations under the World Heritage Convention, while a Transnational Coordination Group will comprise representatives of each component part. A Moravian Church Transnational Advisory Group will provide a consistent viewpoint on matters of tangible and intangible attributes. Each component part will have a Site Manager/Coordinator and a Local Management Plan that conforms to the overarching International Management Plan.

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