Moravian Book Shop is coming up on your left… and it’s the kind of place that makes other bookstores look like they’re still filling out the paperwork. Founded in 1745 by the Moravian Church, it claims the title of the oldest continuously operating bookstore in the United States… and second-oldest in the world, trailing only a shop in Lisbon that opened in 1732. So yeah, this place has been selling reading material since before the country was even a country. Overachiever.
Back in the beginning, this wasn’t a “grab a novel for the beach” kind of store. Bishop Augustus Spangenberg-one of the big Moravian leaders-tapped Samuel Powell, an innkeeper on Bethlehem’s South Side, to run it. Picture candlelight, paper that still smells like the mill, and shelves stacked with devotional and church-use texts… the practical stuff that missionaries, students, and churchgoers actually needed. It was less “bestseller table,” more “how to keep a far-flung community on the same page.”
The shop didn’t just sit still, either. Over the 1800s it wandered through different locations, even spending time in Philadelphia as both a seller and a printer. But in 1871 it settled right here near Central Moravian Church on Main Street-and stayed. Since then, it’s expanded into a footprint of about 14,000 square feet spread across four connected buildings. That’s a lot of room for stories… and for the careful business of keeping a legacy alive.
In recent years, ownership shifted in a very Bethlehem way: still within the Moravian “family.” In 2018, Moravian College acquired the shop, aiming to protect its mission and its ties to Moravian congregations. Day-to-day operations are handled by Barnes and Noble College Booksellers, which sparked some local debate-there was even a petition to keep things fully independent. Book people are passionate. It’s kind of their thing.
Inside, you’ll find more than novels: local history, Bethlehem Steel titles, Moravian-themed gifts, and those famous 26-point Moravian Stars-Advent stars-bright and geometric, originally popularized in 19th-century Germany, now sold in hundreds of styles here.
When you’re set, the Lewis David de Schweinitz Residence is a 3-minute walk heading south.
