The Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is a major special collection of the Moravian Church. The Archives is located in a modern 9,200 square foot building with two climate-controlled vaults. It contains approximately 8,000 linear feet of material.

These records concern the history of the province beginning in 1740 and includes records of many active and inactive congregations. There are over 1,000,000 pages written in 18th century German Script, large amounts of English-language documents, over 20,000 printed volumes and thousands of pamphlets, paintings, prints, maps, and photographs as well as selected personal papers.

A selection from the Moravian Archives’ holdings is also available on the website of the Bethlehem Digital History Project. This website provides online access to digitized primary source materials, transcriptions, translations and contextual information relating to the early history of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741–1844.

Overview OF selected RESOURCES

• For a systematic list of our holdings, click here (with links to inventories, when available).

• Various finding aids of Moravian collections held in other places (such as the Unity Archives in Herrnhut, Germany) are available at the Bethlehem Moravian Archives.

• The musical holdings at the Moravian Archives are under the care of the Moravian Music Foundation. Please contact Gwyn Michel, asst. director of the Moravian Music Foundation, for questions about the collection, research appointments, etc. (610-866-3340)

• The Bethlehem Diary constitutes one of the Archives' most important single holdings. The Bethlehem Diary includes a daily account of the important events in the center of Moravian activity in North America, beginning in 1742 and continuing until the 20th century. We also have similar diaries from most other Moravian communities, such as Nazareth, Lititz, Emmaus, as well as from the town congregations.

The handwritten "Gemeinnachrichten" (ms. 1747-1818, printed 1819-1891) contain extracts from diaries of Moravian congregations in other parts of the world.

• Approximately 6,000 volumes and pamphlets deal with the history of the Moravian Church, American Indian life, and the history of colonial Pennsylvania.

• The paintings of John Valentine Haidt, a Moravian artist who was active in America from 1754 till his death in 1780, comprise the largest portion of our fine art collection. Another artist of interest and merit is Christian Schuessele's large-scale work, "The Power of the Gospel."

• The papers of John Ettwein, the Revolutionary War era President of the Governing Board of the Moravian Church in America, make up the largest portion of our Revolutionary War records.

• Records of the mission to the American Indians. The diaries of the Indian mission from 1740 to 1820 are particularly well indexed in the so-called Fliegel Index (see below). A number of universities and other places have acquired the Fliegel Index and the accompanying microfilms of the Moravian Indian mission. According to our information, which is probably incomplete, various institutions have copies.

• The Fliegel Index lists many Indian names and the names of missionaries and others involved with the mission. The Fliegel Index is available online from Gale Inc. Click here and scroll down to "Records of the Moravian Mission Among the Indians of North America." 

• Administered from Bethlehem, the mission activity in the West Indies, British Guyana, as well as the nineteenth-century Alaskan mission records are held by the Archives.

• Approximately 800 maps, architectural drawings, and sketches depict the evolution of the Bethlehem and other congregational settlements.

• Detailed accounts from Bethlehem's communal economy (1742-1762) through the opening of the community to non-Moravian residents in 1844 comprise the largest component of the financial records.

• Various diaries, travel journals, letters, minutes, biographies and deeds comprise much of our extensive manuscript collection.

• Church registers (PDF format) include vital statistics related to Bethlehem and other congregational settlements.

• The minutes of the Unity Elders' Conference (UEC, Unitätsältestenkonferenz) (1764-1899) are available on microfilm. The UEC was the general administrative board for the world-wide Unity.

• Meeting minutes of various official congregational and provincial boards.

• Early records of the Moravian Theological Seminary and the Seminary for Young Ladies.

• Early photographs and negatives of a variety of persons and places are also held by the Archives.

• The music collection (including music from the Bethlehem, Nazareth and Lititz congregations as well as from the Bethlehem Philharmonic Society) is housed at the Archives but maintained by the Moravian Music Foundation.

• Lissa Folios (Lissaer Folianten, Acta Unitatis Fratrum), a series of fourteen volumes, containing records from the Unity of Brethren (Unitas Fratrum) 1460-1589 in Czech and Latin. Vol. 1-13 are the property of the Unity Archives in Herrnhut, vol. 14 is property of the Czech State Archives in Prague. Vol. 1-13 have been on loan to the Czech State Archives since 1945. The Moravian Archives has microfilm copies of all fourteen volumes. Also see: J.Th. Müller, "Geschichte und Inhalt der Acta Unitatis Fratrum," Zeitschrift für Brüdergeschichte (1913).

• Local newspapers, such as the Bethlehem Times, the Globe, and the Globe-Times, are available on microfilm.