“Herrnhut in Saxony: Moravian Refuge and Global Network Exhibition Goes to New York”

The jubilee exhibition marking the 300th anniversary of Herrnhut in East Saxony in 2022 is going to the USA in an adapted form. It is entitled “Herrnhut in Saxony. Moravian Refuge, Global Network” from May 9th to July 31st in the German Consulate General in New York, as the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD) announced on Friday. The exhibition should contribute to promoting Herrnhut’s application in conjunction with other Moravian settlements as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Herrnhut/Dresden – It sheds light on the internal and external order of the Renewed Brotherhood, its specific economy and its worldwide spread, it said. According to the information, the main themes are the relationship between the Brethren unit and the USA and Herrnhut’s relationship with the peace movement in the GDR. The opening was the cultural highlight of the trip to the USA by Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), who also wanted to visit the Moravian Church in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania).

In the exhibition, the religious community ideal of the place and its global charisma are made clear, said the pastor of the Moravian Church, Peter Vogt. “The focus is on the coexistence of the original population as sisters and brothers in Christ and the development of a worldwide network of settlements and mission stations.” This is how Moravian music and handicrafts have had an impact as far away as North America – and pictures of the famous sculpture “Swords into Plowshares” show how impulses from New York arrived in Herrnhut.

The place “under the Lord’s hat” was founded in 1722 as a settlement for Protestant religious refugees from Bohemia. The Evangelical Brethren Church, which later spread worldwide, has its origins there. The small town in Upper Lusatia is now world-famous for its annual slogans, stars and the Moravian Mission. The settlement quickly developed into an important place for crafts and trade. Through the expansion and mission of the Moravian Church, it became the center of a globally networked church renewal movement. dpa