Declared to be the ‘Coolest Small Town in America’ in some daft poll ten years ago, Lititz is home to under 10,000 souls and is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
I paid the town a quick visit with my good friend Tara a few months ago and grabbed these pics:
Sturgis Pretzel House in Lititz was founded in 1861 and is the oldest commercial pretzel bakery in the United States.
It’s still producing pretzels today and is, inevitably, a popular tourist attraction.
Wikipedia gives an overview to Lititz’s history:
Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named after a castle in Bohemia near the village of Kunvald where the ancient Bohemian Brethren’s Church had been founded in 1457.
The roots of the Moravian Brethren’s Church date back to the ancient Bohemian Brethren’s Church. It was one of the four leading Moravian communities in the Northeastern United States (Bethlehem, Emmaus and Nazareth, each in Pennsylvania, were the three others).
For a century, only Moravians were permitted to live in Lititz. Until the middle of the 19th century, only members of the congregation could own houses; others were required to lease. The lease system was abolished in 1855, just five years before the beginning of the Civil War.
Main Street is full of restaurants, cafes, independent shops and bars.
The nearby rock concert production company, Rock Lititz, has a world class show production stage, attracting international artists to the area.
The Reading and Columbia Railroad operated passenger service through downtown Lititz until 1952.
Norfolk Southern continues to operate freight service to Lancaster, while the line between Lititz and Ephrata has been converted into a rail trail.
Passenger services have long ceased to run in Lititz, although a replica of the original train station serves as a visitor centre.
The iconic Wilbur Chocolate Company factory in Lititz was closed in 2016 and the building converted into condos.
There’s a small park by the old railroad station.
The striking Linden Hall in Lititz.
Founded in 1746 by members of the Moravian Church, Linden Hall is the oldest boarding school for girls in continuous operation in the United States.
St. Luke’s United Church of Christ
Heading back to Lancaster.
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