Historic Bethlehem’s Church and Chapel tour is a look at the Moravians who founded Bethlehem more than 270 years ago and the churches and chapels they built. These buildings represent some of the oldest in the city. The tour begins with guide Loretta Hein, who outlines the creation of the 1741 Gemeinhaus where the early Moravians lived, worshiped and conducted everyday life.

The Moravian religion is the oldest Protestant denomination that is still in existence today. Much of their traditions of worship and life revolve around music. They were the first to bring trombone musical instruments to the new world.

To this day trombones are an important aspect of Moravian music. In addition, the Moravians are known for the Bach Choir. The founder of the Bach Choir, Fred J. Woll, led the choir to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor for the first time in America in 1900 at the Central Moravian Church.

The next part of the tour focuses on the Old Chapel which was built in 1751. Many notable individuals from before and during the American Revolution visited and worshiped in the Old Chapel. Some of them include George and Martha Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and Marquis De Lafayette.

The third and last stop of the tour is the Central Moravian Church on the corner of Main Street in Bethlehem. The large, simple and elegant church was built to hold many more people. It was dedicated in 1806 and attended by 6,000 people. To this day, it’s the largest structure without interior columns in the state of Pennsylvania.

The Church and Chapel tours take place mostly on Saturdays and Sundays now through the end of March. Tickets can be purchased at the Historic Bethlehem Visitor Center located at 505 Main Street or from the historicbethlehem.org website.