Lorsch Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Lorsch Overview
Lorsch is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, 60 km south of Frankfurt (Frankfurt vacation rentals | Frankfurt travel guide). Lorsch is well known for the Lorsch Abbey, which has been named a World Heritage Site.
Lorsch, which is described as The Gateway to the Bergstraße
, actually lies about 5 km west of the Bergstraße in the Rhine rift just west of the Odenwald between Darmstadt (Darmstadt vacation rentals | Darmstadt travel guide) to the north and Mannheim (Mannheim vacation rentals | Mannheim travel guide) to the south. The town lies not far from the Weschnitz’s lower reaches. In the town’s southeast is found the Weschnitzinsel conservation area.
Where to stay in Lorsch?
Featured vacation rental in Lorsch:
 [ Vacation Apartment in Lorsch - 484 sqft, free wifi ] |
In addition, check out our selection of hand-selected and quality Lorsch vacation rentals and holiday apartments.
Things to See in Lorsch
Musiktheater Rex
Kleinkunstbühne Sapperlot (cabaret)
Museumszentrum Lorsch (Lorsch Museum Center
) with its departments of monastic history and folklore, and its tobacco museum.
Lorsch Abbey with the Königshalle
Benedictine herb gardens at the Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch’s Town Hall (built between 1714 and 1715)
Lorsch’s oldest timber-frame house at Stiftstraße 19
Lorsch’s oldest guesthouse, the Weißes Kreuz
Wattenheimer Brücke (bridge)
[ source: wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Lorsch
Through the town’s municipal area run Autobahn A 67 and Bundesstraßen 47 and 460. Lorsch’s DB railway station lies on the Nibelungenbahn (railway) between Bensheim and Worms. Furthermore, there are bus connections with Lampertheim/Bürstadt, Heppenheim, Einhausen and Bensheim. Lorsch lies on Hesse’s cycle path R9, which leads from Worms by way of Bensheim to Höchst im Odenwald.
Torhalle Lorsch
[ source: Wikipedia]
Popular Points of Interest in and near Lorsch
Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (Reichsabtei Lorsch) UNESCO World Heritage Site
[ source: Wikipedia ]
The Imperial Abbey of Lorsch was one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque buildings in Germany. Its chronicle, entered in the Lorscher Codex compiled in the 1170s (now in the state archive at Würzburg) is a fundamental document for early medieval German history. Another famous document from the monastic library is the Codex Aureus of Lorsch. On the upper floor, remnants of carolingian murals and gothic frescoes can be seen. In 1991 the ruined abbey was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Lorsch. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Lorsch: Lorsch (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Lorsch
More about the History of Lorsch
The Lorsch Abbey was founded in 764 by the Frankish Count Cancor and his mother Williswinda. The Abbey was one of the greatest centres of Carolingian art. Several Carolingian kings of Germany were buried there. The monastery was settled by Benedictines from the Gorze monastery near Metz. In a document from 885, the Abbey is mentioned as Lauressam, from which, over the course of time, came the town’s current name. In the Early and High Middle Ages, the Abbey was a powerful Imperial monastery with holdings in the nearby Odenwald, on the Bergstraße and in Rhenish Hesse, and also in Alsace and Lorraine. In the civil war resulting from the Investiture Controversy in the 11th century, the Abbey sustained great losses in holdings to the nobility.
In the late 12th century, with the record of the old deeds, there was an attempt to reorganize the administration (Lorsch codex). Nevertheless, in 1232, Lorsch was awarded to the Archbishopric of Mainz (Mainz vacation rentals | Mainz travel guide) and newly settled by Premonstratensians. Thereafter, Mainz and Electoral Palatinate found themselves at odds over who should hold the Vogt rights. Of the Carolingian Benedictine abbey, which in parts has been unearthed, the gatehall (from about 800) has been preserved. It is today a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site.
[ source: wikipedia ]
What makes this Live Like a German Lorsch Travel Guide special...
This Lorsch travel guide provides you with an overview of Lorsch, Lorsch pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Lorsch destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
