Friedensthal is one of the oldest Moravian mission complexes in the Caribbean, established in the 1730s by the Moravian Brethren — a Protestant sect from Bohemia that sent missionaries throughout the Danish Caribbean specifically to minister to enslaved people. The complex includes a church, a manse, and a cemetery, the last being the most historically significant part of the site. The graves here record several generations of both free and enslaved Moravian congregants, with a remarkable continuity of community stretching from the colonial era to the present.
The Moravian Church remains active; the congregation is still primarily Crucian and services are a living continuation of a tradition that began under slavery. The architecture is simple and spare — whitewashed walls, minimal ornament — in keeping with Moravian principles. It's not a major tourist destination but it's a genuine piece of St. Croix's social history, and well worth a stop if you're driving through the island's interior.