Welcome to the Lehigh Valley Landmarks with Leon podcast series, celebrating 250 years of independence. I'm your host, Rachel Leon. Since being elected in 2022 and serving as Vice President of Bethlehem City Council, I'm humbled by the opportunity to serve the diverse communities that make up our great city. But to understand where we're going, we need to understand our past. Each week, I'll share a short feature with a big story about the 250 years that made the Lehigh Valley and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, known as the Christmas City, as we explore historic landmarks.
"The world is a field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ." Those are the words of Count Nicolas Ludwig von Zinzendorf. He did not merely say them — he lived them, crossing oceans, enduring exile, and reshaping Protestant Christianity.
Nicolas Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf was born on May 26, 1700 in Dresden, Germany into one of the most prominent noble families of the region. He was the only son of Count Georg Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf by his second wife, Baroness Charlotte Justina von Gersdorff.
Shortly after his birth his father died leaving the infant count to be raised by his maternal grandmother, Baroness Henrietta Catherine von Gersdorf — a devout Pietist.
In 1710, at age ten, Zinzendorf was sent to board at the Halle Academy, the prestigious Pietist school conducted by August Hermann Francke. There, at age fifteen, he and a small group of fellow young nobles formed a secret society they called "The Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed." Their stated commitments were total devotion to God, pure living, love for others, and mission work among unreached peoples. The order's strict code included prohibitions on gambling and, by the standards of their era, dancing.
After completing a law degree in 1722 at the University of Wittenberg, Zinzendorf married Countess Erdmuth Dorothea von Reuss and assumed his hereditary duties as a young noble.
That same year, a group of Protestant refugees from Moravia — descendants of the ancient Hussite Unity of Brethren — crossed the border and settled at his estate. They founded a village called Herrnhut, meaning "the Lord's Watch," and Zinzendorf felt an endearing kinship to them.
Under Zinzendorf's leadership, the Herrnhut community drafted a foundational document in the spring of 1727 known as the Brotherly Agreement — a Christian code of conduct that established the community's shared values and governance. The signing of the agreement is recognized as the "birthday" of the Renewed Moravian Church and its principles are followed today.
In 1736, the Saxon government banished Zinzendorf from his estates, viewing his religious activities as a threat to the established order. He traveled across Europe and the Atlantic, founding Moravian communities in Holland, England, and America. He was consecrated a bishop of the Moravian Church in 1737.
In the fifth year of Zinzendorf’s “Pilgrim Count” in 1741, he traveled to Pennsylvania and was one of the first 18th century European nobles to set foot in the Americas. In addition to visiting leaders in Philadelphia such as Benjamin Franklin, he met with the leaders of the Iroquois and with the help of the interpreter Conrad Weiss, an agreement was reached for the free movement of Moravian missionaries in the area.
On the night of December 24, 1741, Count Zinzendorf gathered a small group of Moravian pioneers in their newly constructed two-room log house. Remembering the birth of Jesus in a manger, Zinzendorf was inspired by the hymn "Not Jerusalem — lowly Bethlehem 'twas that gave us Christ.” He led the group in singing and formally christened the community Bethlehem.
Although he remained in Bethlehem for only 14-weeks, he helped organize the communal settlement, establishing the foundational layout and religious direction for the early colony.
In 1747, the Saxon government reversed its decree and invited him to return. He did, and resumed pastoral work at Herrnhut until his death on May 9, 1760 at the age of 59.
Zinzendorf's legacy is visible throughout Bethlehem today. To experience it firsthand, visit the Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites, whose properties include the 1741 Gemeinhaus — the oldest surviving building from the Moravian settlement — at 66 West Church Street in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
For more information, visit historicbethlehem.org. Additional resources can be found at moravian.org and christianhistoryinstitute.org.
