Key Information
Counties:
AntrimYear of Inscription:
2024Type of Heritage:
CulturalLink to Website:
www.gracehillvillage.org
Moravian Church Settlements: Gracehill
The Moravian Church dates from 1457. In 1722 the renewed Church established a Settlement at Herrnhut, Germany from where they travelled around the world founding new Settlements, based on their vision of a unified, coherent urban design, inspired by the concept of an “ideal city”. Moravian Church Settlements, is a transnational serial inscription, consisting of four such towns established in the 18th century: Bethlehem (USA), Christianfeld (Denmark), Gracehill (Northern Ireland) and Herrnhut (Germany).
What makes this UNESCO Designation special?
Gracehill was established in 1759 and featured a simple grid pattern with designated green spaces focused on a village square. It is considered the best-preserved Moravian Church settlement in the UK and Ireland.
The layout of the buildings and the unique Georgian style of architecture remain very much as originally conceived. It is an early example of town planning reflecting the timeless values of education, equality, industry, tolerance, and spirituality that the Moravians shared wherever they went.
Gracehill is the only complete Moravian Church Settlement in Ireland, one of four in the British Isles, and the only one in the British Moravian Province designed on a traditional continental model grid plan with central square.
Other features of this unique village include its exceptional symmetry related to Moravian societal and religious beliefs and practices with a “Gender Axis”, the integration of the God’s Acre (Burial Ground) into the design, and the presence of classic building types in distinctive local materials and tradition.
