Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 27 miles southwest of Reading and 76 miles due west from Philadelphia.
Lititz was founded by Moravians in 1756, and was named by Count Nicholas Zinzendorf after a village in Bohemia where the ancient Moravian Brethren's Church had been founded in 1457. Count Zinzendorf was born in Dresden in 1700. He was very much a part of the Pietist movement in Germany. The Count emphasized 3 parts in the life of the disciple of Jesus Christ:
- The first emphasis was on personal piety. This was not just a casual, detatched walk but one that affected all areas of a believers life.
The third component was life amongst the brethren. Zinzendorf was known for his extended hand of fellowship to brethren of other sects of Christianity. Many a Lutheran, Anabaptist, Schwenfelder or Hutterite found solace in the company of the Count. Upon visiting the gathering of Moravians at Herrnhut in 1738, John Wesley was so impressed that he commented in his journal "I would gladly have spent my life here . . . Oh, when shall this Christianity cover the earth as water covers the sea?"
Count Zinzendorf believed in "heart religion," a personal salvation built on the individual's spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ rather than one built solely on an intellectual faith.
For a century, only Moravians were permitted to live in Lititz. Until the middle of the 1800's, only members of the congregation could own houses, others were required to lease. The lease-system was abolished in 1855, just 5 years before the beginning of the Civil War. More information can be found in the book A Brief History of Lititz Pennsylvania by Mary Augusta Huevener, published in 1947.
During a part of the Revolution, the Brothers' house, built in 1759, was used as a hospital. A number of soldiers died and were buried here. Lititz is also home to Linden Hall School, the oldest all girls boarding school in the United States. Located adjacent to the Moravian Church on 47 acres of land, Linden Hall School was founded by the Moravians in 1746, a decade before the borough was incorporated.