UNESCO has recognized the town of Herrnhut in Saxony as part of the Moravian Brethren settlement as a new World Heritage Site. The relevant committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural and Communication Organization (UNESCO) announced the decision at its 46th session in New Delhi, India.
– The Moravian Brethren settlements symbolize cultural and spiritual exchange across borders and continents – said Maria Böhmer, chairwoman of the German UNESCO Commission. – They are united in diversity and thus symbolize the idea of ​​world heritage – she added.
Founded during the Polish-Saxon union
Since the 18th century, Herrnhut has been the seat of the Protestant community of the Moravian Brethren, also known as the Herrnhuts or the Evangelical Brethren Unity.
Religious refugees from Moravia founded this town in 1722, during the Polish-Saxon union. The Herrnhuts maintained doctrinal ties with the Polish province of the Unity of the Brethren. One of their sympathizers was the Polish-German-Czech Protestant clergyman Daniel Ernest Jablonski of the Unity of the Brethren, who ordained seniors (bishops) of the Herrnhut congregations of David Nitschmann and Nikolaus von Zinzendorf.
As the Moravian community later spread around the world, missionaries from Upper Lusatia also took plans to build new settlements to other countries. One of these, Christiansfeld in Denmark, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. The newly established Herrnhut International World Heritage Site also includes the Moravian settlements in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (USA) and Gracehill in Northern Ireland.
Baroque construction, simple architecture
Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760) gave Protestant religious refugees from Moravia land to settle in Upper Lusatia. On June 17, 1722, carpenter Christian David cut down the first tree to build a new village under the “protection of the Lord” (German: Herrnhut). Hence the historical Polish name Ochranów.
The Moravian Brethren settlements were planned according to the same Baroque principles in all parts of the world that their missionaries reached. The uniform plan of the city settlement and the simple architecture reflect the ideals of this pietistic religious community and its community-oriented way of life. Thanks to the missionary work of the Moravian Brethren, more than 30 such settlements were established around the world.
Herrnhut Stars
Located in eastern Saxony, approximately 20 kilometres from Polish borderHerrnhut has about 1,200 inhabitants today; about 5,000 people live in the neighboring villages. This small town in the Görlitz district is known worldwide for two export hits: first, the Herrnhut (also called Moravian) Christmas stars, of which almost 800,000 leave the local factory every year; and second, the Herrnhut Watchwords, an annual devotional book with a daily Bible verse, now published in over 60 languages.
There are currently 53 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany. (dpa/du)
The article comes from the website German Welle