Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites

09/04/2026

Thank you to the dozens of Lehigh Valley community leaders who joined us for the first Master Planning Advisory Council Meeting. We are privileged to work with such an involved and committed community.

This council will provide important input as we develop a plan that preserves and protects Bethlehem’s rich history while improving the visitor experience and respecting local community needs.

Collaboration will be key to success. So, we are planning public input sessions for later this year. Stay tuned to this page for details.

09/03/2026

EXCITING NEWS! Beginning September 10, the Bethlehem World Heritage Tour is expanding from one day a week to five — Thursday through Monday at 2 p.m. — creating more opportunities to experience and learn about the three-square-block area of downtown Bethlehem that earned the city recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As an added bonus, Lehigh Valley residents can take the tour at the special rate of only $15.

This 90-minute tour of the Moravian Church Settlements - Bethlehem World Heritage Site begins at the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the only surviving 18th-century Moravian Gemeinhaus still in use anywhere in the world.

It continues through the 1751 Old Chapel, the Bell House Courtyard, and God's Acre, with stops at additional World Heritage Site properties along Church Street, Main Street, and the Colonial Industrial Quarter, including the 1748 Second Single Brethren's House, the 1761 Tannery, and the 1762 Waterworks.

The tour concludes inside the historic Central Moravian Church Sanctuary, where guests learn how an active congregation still carries forward Moravian traditions nearly three centuries old.

The World Heritage Tour is presented collaboratively by Central Moravian Church and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, while the Moravian Church Settlements-Bethlehem World Heritage Site is collaboratively stewarded by six local partner organizations: County of Northampton, City of Bethlehem, Moravian University, Bethlehem Area Moravians, Central Moravian Church, and Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites.

If you’ve always wanted to explore a World Heritage Site, this is your opportunity. See our website for tickets.

Photos: Durston Saylor Photography

09/02/2026

During the American Revolution, the war cut off Bethlehem's supply lines, so the Moravian community turned to the garden.

The new Soldiers and Salves program looks at what might have been taking place in Moravian Bethlehem in the mid-1770s, when physicians treated wounded Continental soldiers, including a young Marquis de Lafayette, with locally grown herbs.

Join us Saturday, September 12, from 10 AM–12 PM as Penn State Master Gardener Judy Gilotti walks us through the recreated Apothecary Garden, plant by plant, before leading the group into the 1752 Apothecary and then to God's Acre cemetery, the final resting place for Moravians from 1742-1911. The event wraps up at the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, where attendees can explore the Moravian Care & Cure exhibition.

Tickets are only $13 for this program. See our website to reserve your spot today.

09/01/2026

Discover three centuries of life in miniature when the “Art of the Dollhouse” exhibition opens Thursday, October 22, at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts.

Spread across multiple floors, this dynamic exhibition pairs intricately furnished Victorian parlors with contemporary works by artists pushing the miniature form forward into today. Visitors will experience up close the Elizabeth Johnston Prime Dollhouse Collection — once one of the largest privately owned antique dollhouse collections in the United States. Explore 44 antique dollhouses and more than 6,000 miniature objects, alongside contemporary dollhouses loaned from private collectors and public institutions.

Tickets are on sale now — visit our website for more information.

08/31/2026

Over 75 vintage vendors are setting up shop at Historic Burnside in Bethlehem this fall for the new Vintage & Harvest Market. On September 19, this unique ‘farm in the city’ transforms into the region's largest curated vintage market, with racks of clothing, crates of records, and tables of midcentury furniture spread across the grounds.

PhillyVoice recently featured the market -- a partnership with Bethlehem Vintage Market -- noting the blacksmithing demonstrations, quill pen writing, and open-hearth cooking that bring the farm's history to life alongside the shopping. Kids can create a hand-dipped beeswax candle in a clay candle holder and a cornhusk doll, and the dessert barn will be stocked with cider doughnuts, pumpkin coffee cake, and a dozen other fall treats.

Admission is only $3 in advance and $4 at the gates, with children 14 and under free. See our website for tickets and details.

The Sept. 19 event at Historic Burnside in Bethlehem will feature collectibles, clothing and home goods, plus fall treats, blacksmithing and family activities.

08/26/2026

Next week marks the return of our trio of popular autumn tours. Starting September 4, the Death & Dying Cemetery Tour takes guests through the early Moravians' remarkable beliefs about mortality and spirituality, including the compelling purpose behind the Death Tray and how it was used, as well as the community's striking approach to equality even in its final resting place.

Docents in 18th-century attire lead the tour through God’s Acre, Bethlehem's oldest cemetery, Fridays at 3 PM through October, with additional dates in early November.

Two more tours join the lineup the same week. The Mystery & History Walking Tour, which also starts on September 4, leads guests through the Colonial Industrial Quarter as twilight falls, tracing whispers of unsolved murders and eerie premonitions. And starting September 5, the Spirited Tales Pub Tour — the autumn version of our popular pub walking tour — visits the 1758 Sun Inn, Red Stag Pub, Lost Tavern Brewing, and Historic Hotel Bethlehem for paranormal tales and a complimentary Christmas City Spirits tasting and a tasting glass.

Reserve your spot today on our website.

08/24/2026

Our Colonial Baking Workshops sold out this spring so we are excited to announce they are returning this fall with a whole, new slate of classes.

Join veteran open-hearth cook Joanne Ritter in the Summer Kitchen at Burnside Plantation to make an Apple Pandowdy on September 27, Moravian Sugar Cake on October 4 or 25, or Cider Cake on November 8.

Each workshop runs 11 AM–2 PM. We keep the workshop size small for personalized instruction (only six people per class) and you’ll go home with your finished treat and the "receipt" (the 18th-century word for recipe) to make it again in your own kitchen.

Spots are limited, and spring proved they don't last long. Reserve yours via our website and use code BAKEBUNDLE for 10% off when you book two or more dates.

08/20/2026

Autumn's favorite treats are coming to the Bethlehem Vintage & Harvest Market at Historic Burnside, and it’s our largest lineup yet.

Think apple pie, apple cider donuts, apple dumplings, apple fritters, apple strudel, apple crullers, and caramel apple ice cream. There’s also pumpkin pie, pumpkin coffee cake, gluten-free pumpkin mini crumb cakes, cranberry orange scones, molasses cookies, and more.

Can't pick just one? The Autumn Extravaganza bundle brings together pie, coffee cake, and a batch of scones in a single order.
Order ahead and pick up during the Market to Go on Friday, September 18, or swing by the Market itself on Saturday, September 19.

Reserve your desserts before they sell out -- see the link in the comments to order today!

08/19/2026

Big news! Bethlehem's Apple Days is getting a new name and a whole lot more to explore. Say hello to the Bethlehem Vintage & Harvest Market happening Saturday, September 19, from 10 AM to 4 PM at Historic Burnside.

For 2026, HBMS has partnered with Bethlehem Vintage Market to present the area’s largest curated vintage vendor shopping experience, with a DJ spinning vinyl to set the mood while you dig through collectibles, antiques, and one-of-a-kind finds.

Then there's everything you already love about fall at Burnside, including autumn desserts, hands-on family activities, open-hearth cooking demos and tours of the historic farmhouse, award-winning garden and more.

Advance tickets are only $3, and kids 14 and under get in free. See the link in the comments for tickets and details.

P: Bethlehem Vintage Market

08/17/2026

This is what happens when you make preserving a community's story a top priority: Historic Bethlehem just landed on CNN's homepage!
 
CNN Travel has named Bethlehem the No. 4 best town to visit in America for 2026, writing, "Wherever you go in this handsome city, the past is never far away."

The piece covers it all: the Moravians who built colonial America's first municipal water system, Main Street's historic charm, and Bethlehem's spot as the 26th UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country.
 
"I've never seen a Main Street like it," HBMS's Lauren Kachmarsky told CNN.
 
Thank you to everyone who makes this city one of the best in the nation!