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Inscription of the Moravian Church Settlements on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Inscription of the Moravian Church Settlements on the UNESCO World Heritage List, © Martina Lochen
On 26th July 2024, during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, the World Heritage Committee inscribed the Moravian Church Settlements in Herrnhut (Saxony), Bethlehem (Pennsylvania/USA) and Gracehill (Northern Ireland) to the world heritage list of UNESCO. This inscription is a transnational serial extension to the already inscribed settlement of Christiansfeld (Denmark) in 2015. It is the third cross-border world heritage site of the Free State of Saxony and the 53rd world heritage site in Germany.
The component part situated in Saxony is the founding place of the living religious and urban centre of Herrnhut. This is where its first settlement was built, after the German count of Zinzendorf took in religious refugees from Bohemia and Moravia in 1722. The Settlements distinguish themselves by their architecture and urban planning as well as by their simple shapes and by the orientation of the community.This transnational inscription underlines the world heritage idea in a special way: it was made possible by a joint preparation and international cooperation and it promotes the cultural exchange and preservation across borders.
UNESCO and the Herrnhut settlements share one important goal: Education for All. The Herrnhut settlements committed themselves, for example, to build a school and a kindergarten in the refugee camps of Dowa, in Malawi.
On the occasion of the world heritage conference, the Chief of the State Chancellery and State Minister of Saxony, Mr Conrad Clemens, travelled with a delegation from Saxony to New Delhi, so as to celebrate the inscription of the Herrnhut settlements and to acknowledge its importance.
The German Ambassador Kerstin Pürschel declared after the inscription:
“The transnational inscription is a beautiful testimony of the successful cooperation of the States parties to the world heritage convention. This world heritage site reminds us that education, solidarity and inclusion in addition to the preservation and protection of world heritage remain a special commitment for our societies even today. At UNESCO it is our mission to work intensively together with partners worldwide.”
