Taking the World Stage Capital Campaign

Our ultimate goal

Widely recognized as a gem of our region and a national treasure, Moravian Church Settlements — Bethlehem has been inscribed to the World Heritage List. This is only the 26th World Heritage Site in the United States.

What a great honor it is for our region to be listed with the likes of Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty, and the Historic Centre of Rome!

The Taking the World Stage Capital Campaign is a $7.75 million campaign to ensure that we address our most urgent needs right now so that we are ready to welcome more visitors, tell the story of Bethlehem from its founding until today, and preserve our important historic sites in perpetuity.

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Local Business Leaders Hosted by B. Braun

On May 29th, B. Braun of America Inc. hosted local business leadership at the 1869 Luckenbach Mill to learn more about the importance of the Taking the World Stage Campaign. Local business leaders were invited to join us to learn both why and how we, as community leaders, can ensure that our region is prepared for this exciting future.

We need to be ready

Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites is the steward of many of Bethlehem’s historic assets and the keeper of what sets this historic center of our region apart from others. It is also must interpret that history in ways that reach changing audiences.

We must be prepared to put our best foot forward to the world.

This campaign will make it possible to:

• Complete restoration and preservation projects that will enhance Moravian Church Settlements — Bethlehem’s World Heritage status
• Prepare for more visitors with a world-class experience
• Ensure that Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites’ buildings and artifacts are cared for in perpetuity

Bethlehem’s Remarkable Assets

• First school to teach Indigenous languages
• Oldest school to educate women in the original 13 colonies (forerunner of Moravian Academy and Moravian University, 1742)
• One of the earliest orchestras in America
• One of the oldest apothecaries
• Oldest continuously operating bookstore in the world: Moravian Book Shop
• Considered America’s Earliest Industrial Park – a concentration of 35 crafts, trades, and industries operating in the Colonial Industrial Quarter by 1747
• First pumped municipal water system in America

Why It Matters

“The Moravian District is a source of pride for the city of Bethlehem and the surrounding Lehigh Valley, as it has provided a unique, historically rich, and culturally significant way of life for over 275 years. The United States is filled with a number of important historical sites, so to even be considered is an honor.”

— Former U.S. Congressman Charlie Dent, lifelong Lehigh Valley resident and member of the Bethlehem Mayors’ World Heritage Commission