The Northern Ireland village of Gracehill has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a transnational serial bid that also includes Moravian Church settlements in Denmark, Germany and the US. While each settlement reflects Moravian ideals in its layout and architecture, they showcase distinct local variations.
The village of Gracehill, near Ballymena in Co. Antrim, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 26 July during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee. It joins the Giant’s Causeway, inscribed in 1986, as the second site in Northern Ireland to receive this designation. Gracehill is the first cultural heritage designation for Northern Ireland.
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Gracehill was nominated as part of a transnational campaign aimed at securing World Heritage Status for a number of Moravian Church settlements established in the 18th century across Europe and the United States. The picturesque village of Gracehill is regarded as the best-preserved example of a settlement reflecting the Moravian ideal in Ireland and the UK and stands as the only settlement of its kind completed on the island of Ireland.
Founded in 1759, Gracehill boasts an urban design carefully planned around a central green square. It features a collection of distinctive Moravian buildings primarily constructed in the second half of the 18th century and early 19th century, including a church, choir houses, schools and a weaving manufactory.
The buildings showcase high levels of craftsmanship through their unique blend of Irish Georgian architecture and “Moravian Church civic baroque” influences, local building materials (including exposed black basalt), red brick detailing and slate roofs.
The central green square forms a gender axis, dividing the village into a “sisters’ side” and a “brothers’ side”, mirroring the fundamental structure of Moravian society. Likewise, the village’s large, well-preserved linear burial ground, known as God’s Acre, is divided by the gender axis. A central tree-lined pathway separates the female and male sections of the cemetery, which feature simple flat gravestones. The first person to be interred there was an infant in 1761.
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Historically, the Moravian Church placed a strong emphasis on education, particularly for the poor and females, and the small village of Gracehill once boasted four schools. The Moravians also stressed self-sufficiency, and the village’s early economy was largely centred around weaving. The single brethren’s workshop, later the “manufactory”, was used for weaving brown linen cloth and is the oldest building in Gracehill; the single brethren sold their linen at the congregation store on the same street.
There remains an active congregation in the village, where traditions are upheld, embodying a living Moravian heritage. Gracehill is also home to the archive of the Moravian Church in Ireland, featuring a unique collection of diaries kept by each minister of Gracehill since its foundation and other documents from various Irish congregations.
>>> READ MORE: A guide to navigating Northern Ireland’s church records
Moravian Church Settlements serial designation
The Moravian Church Settlements is a transnational serial extension of Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church settlement in Denmark, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2015. In addition to Gracehill, this extension includes two other municipalities founded in the 18th century: Herrnhut in Germany and Bethlehem in the US.
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Adapting to local conditions, each settlement displays its own character while reflecting the Moravian Church’s spiritual, societal and ethical ideals through a distinctive style of town planning and architecture. Every detail was designed to ensure that members of the Moravian Church could live good Christian lives according to the values of their faith.
The settlements demonstrate a move towards democratization by offering all inhabitants an equal standard of living. Open public spaces, shared gardens, schools, medical facilities and carefully planned industries served to advance the common welfare. The settlements demonstrate unity through homogenous groups of buildings with shared styles, materials and proportions, which display a consistently high standard of Moravian Church craftsmanship.
Collectively, these settlements represent the transnational scope and consistency of the international Moravian community and display what is termed “Outstanding Universal Value”.
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What is the Moravian Church?
The Moravian Church is a Christian evangelical congregation and one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the world. Its origins can be traced to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century, predating Martin Luther’s Reformation by 60 years.
The movement was initiated by Jan Hus (John Huss) in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, who criticized the Roman Catholic Church’s practices and advocated for reforms such as celebrating the liturgy in Czech, allowing married priests and abolishing indulgences. Hus was ultimately burned at the stake for heresy, but his followers established the Moravian Church or Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethren).
In Ireland, the influence of the Moravian Church was first felt in Dublin in the 1740s, when John Cennick founded the first Moravian congregation. Cennick, a prolific preacher, was also instrumental in establishing the first and only complete Moravian settlement in Ireland in the townland of Ballykennedy, in Co. Antrim, which was subsequently named Gracehill in 1759. There are still a small number of active Moravian churches in Northern Ireland, while the ruins of an old Moravian church can be found at Crossard, near Corofin, in Co. Clare.
Reacting to the news
Gordon Lyons, Northern Ireland Communities Minister, said:
“I am delighted that the cultural importance of Gracehill to the world has been recognized through the UNESCO designation. In recent years, my department has worked with the Gracehill community to maintain the village and develop their World Heritage bid. We have supported listed building repairs and provided advice and, since the US formally decided to proceed in 2021, we have contributed to the nomination costs. Gracehill is a special place with an active community and this recognition of a small village on the world stage is a great endorsement, helping to remind us all that Northern Ireland has a fascinating heritage that is well worth exploring.”
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Dr David Johnston, Chair of Gracehill Trust, also commented on the good news story:
“The prize of a cultural World Heritage listing is a huge good news story for Northern Ireland as a whole, something that everyone can share in and be proud of, with the potential to promote understanding and reconciliation and bring social, economic and cultural benefits right across the region now and for generations to come.”
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Fleur Anderson, said:
“This is an exciting moment for the community of Gracehill and a huge achievement for everyone involved in the bid… Northern Ireland has a rich heritage and is home to many culturally significant sites, and I have no doubt this accolade will encourage more visitors to come and see them for themselves.”
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