Visiting Lorsch today, you might find it to be a rather quiet and uneventful town. However, it's fascinating to imagine that during Carolingian and medieval times, Lorsch was a bustling monastery. One of the unique aspects of Lorsch was that it was among the first abbeys North of the Alps to possess a relic. Before this, strict rules mandated that all relics be kept in Rome. Frankish Count Cancor and his cousin, Abbot Chrodegang, managed to relax these rules, allowing Lorsch to house a relic.

I think the "gifting" of the relic has to be seen in light of the ascendency of the Franks. The Catholic Church's became increasingly reliant on Charlemagne and the Franks for protection. Having a relic would foster this relationship and also strengthen the ongoing Christianisation efforts of the Franks. Alternatively, as our guide suggested, it could have been due to pure corruption and theft. Regardless, Lorsch became very popular, thanks to the relic of Saint Nazarius being located there, offering pilgrims a chance of absolution.

Over the centuries, the monastery continued to grow, acquiring more lands. By the 13th century, it was taken over by the Archbishop of Mainz and gradually lost its national significance. The ultimate decline came with the Reformation, during which the abbey was abandoned, and its treasures were moved to Heidelberg.

Today, what remains are mostly ruins and a few buildings. The highlight is the Torhaus, which you need to join a tour to enter. However, it's rather plain inside, and you can see the key features from the outside. The Torhaus, dating back to late Carolingian times (9th century), still shows clear traces of Roman construction techniques, including the use of concrete. A short walk away is the site of the first monastery, which was replaced by Lorsch early on due to the large number of pilgrims.

Having visited in both 2012 and 2025, I can attest that the visiting experience has improved. There is now a proper museum on site with a good selection of finds to complement the limited views outside. Still, it's an underwhelming visit. If you want to see Carolingian splendour, you are better served visiting Aachen Cathedral.

Getting There

Lorsch has a small train station on the railway line connecting Worms and Bensheim. In Bürstadt, you can connect to Mannheim and Frankfurt. In Bensheim, you can also connect to Heidelberg and Darmstadt. The train runs hourly, so plan properly.

From the train station it's an uneventful 10min walk to the museum and the site.

While You Are There

The site has two museums and a open air museum to experience the living conditions of the time.

The region along the Rhine, centred on Mannheim, is rich with World Heritage Sites. Notable locations include Speyer, the ShUM cities (Speyer again, Worms, Mainz), Baden Baden, Maulbronn, Darmstadt Mathildenhöhe, and Grube Messel. From Mannheim, you can also easily access Osterburken and the Limes. Additionally, there are several former tentative sites nearby, such as Worms Cathedral, Schwetzingen, and Heidelberg.

While Mannheim is a great logistics hub and also where the first car was invented by Carl Benz, it's not a touristy city.