About Historic Bethlehem

Founded on Christmas Eve in 1741 by a small group of Moravian settlers and christened “Christmas City, USA” in 1937, Bethlehem shines a light on the past with year-round guided tours and museum exhibits. The 10.9-mile Heritage Trail snakes through 80 historic stops, including two National Historic Landmark and the National Historic Landmark Districts of Historic Moravian Bethlehem as well as Victorian-era homes. On historic walks, guides lead tour groups through the now-defunct site of Bethlehem Steel, the city’s oldest cemetery, and the 1762 Waterworks, known as the first municipally pumped water system in the country.

The Kemerer Museum Of Decorative Arts is one of only 15 of its kind in the country. And located inside the 1741 Gemeinhaus, the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem curates a collection of exhibits about the town’s settlers, including their missionary work, education system, and medical technique—a wealth of information that's earned the museum the title of Best Historic Spot on the Lehigh Valley’s Happening List.