God’s Acre

The Moravian Cemetery known as God’s Acre serves as the final resting place for most of Bethlehem’s first residents. The cemetery, bordered by Market, Wall and New Streets, represents a snapshot of the Moravian Choirs, the segregated communal living system practiced by the early Bethlehem Moravians until 1762. 

The first burial in God’s Acre took place in 1742. It is quite unique, since individuals are buried according to their choirs, not with their families. And Europeans, African Americans and Native Americans are buried side-by-side. 

You can learn about the early Moravians and their funerary traditions while you take a stroll through God’s Acre, the oldest cemetery in Bethlehem.