Historic Bethlehem Partnership is honored to be an Affiliate Member of the Smithsonian Institution.
Who We Are
Mission Statement
To bring history to life by educating the public about Bethlehem’s rich history, collecting and exhibiting artifacts and preserving historic sites.
Many of the original Moravian buildings, including the 1741 Gemeinhaus – the oldest building in Bethlehem and a National Historic Landmark – still stand as a visible link between the cultural and religious heritage of the founding Moravians and the vitality of modern city life. Visitors of all ages are invited to experience our museums and Open the Doors to Our Past - revealing how people lived, their stories, and the objects we still admire and treasure.
HBP offers public programming ranging from walking tours to lectures to programs for school groups of all sizes.
Historic Bethlehem Partnership, Inc. was established in 1993 and is composed of four, not-for-profit organizations: the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem (1939), the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts (1954), Historic Bethlehem, Inc. (1957) and Burnside Plantation (1986). HBP also includes the Colonial Industrial Quarter, which is the home to the 1761 Tannery, the 1869 Luckenbach Mill, the 1750/1761 Smithy and the 1762 Waterwoks- a National Historic Landmark.
HBP is honored to be an Affiliate Member of the Smithsonian Institution; an outreach program presently shared by only 139 other institutions nationwide. We are also a founding member of the International Moravian Heritage Network established in 2003. This organization unites a worldwide group of representatives from six countries on three continents and from international agencies such as UNESCO, who share their experience relating to urban heritage sites which were established by religious communities.