Celebrating a Decade of World Heritage in Christiansfeld

In July this year, Christianfeld marked the 10th anniversary of its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we were delighted to return to join the celebrations. In 2015 we had the honour of attending the ceremony heralding Christiansfeld’s inscription in the presence of Queen Marguerite of Denmark. This year, delegations from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Herrnhut, Germany were also present so it was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with friends from all the newly inscribed settlements.

Community celebrations began in the church on the afternoon of Friday 4th July with the traditional Singstunde; the singing of many familiar hymns (in a less familiar language for us) which was joyful and uplifting. This was attended by those from the settlement delegations with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Christiansfeld present, along with the Head of Danish World Heritage and was led by Rev Dr Jørgen Bøytler.

Afterwards we emerged into the beautiful central square where the bronze UNESCO plaque was unveiled by the Mayor. In his address he noted that the plaque states that inscription ‘recognises the outstanding universal value of a site which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity’. He congratulated the Moravian Church and expressed his delight that Bethlehem (USA), Herrnhut (Germany) and Gracehill (UK) have now joined Christiansfeld, saying that ‘with four towns World Heritage has grown stronger’.

This was followed by coffee and cake in the square, in front of the Sisters’ House; but no ordinary coffee and cake, as the community had provided around sixty different types of traditional homemade Danish cakes and cookies. The only sadness was there were really too many to try them all – but we all did our best! We were fortunate to have the expert knowledge of Steen Lundbye and Louise Klinge to guide us round the settlement later in the afternoon.

The next afternoon was dedicated to a meeting of the UNESCO Transnational Co-ordination Group, with those members not able to be present joining by Zoom. In the evening, we were able to relax with a wonderful meal together at the Brødremenighedens hotel.

Sunday was a chance to attend the service in Church and meet some more of the congregation. In his address Br Jørgen expressed honour and joy at Christiansfeld’s inscription. He highlighted the goodwill which still exists in Christiansfeld from the time of its founding to the present day and the confidence that this will continue into the future. Reflecting on the 10 years that have passed since inscription he concluded that it had been ‘positive, exciting and at times positively challenging’ and was looking forward with anticipation to the years ahead as part of the enlarged world heritage site now known as ‘Moravian Church Settlements’.

Sr Sally Ann Johnston

Gracehill