Discover Lorsch

If you are planning a trip to Lorsch, you will find a range of themes to shape your stay: the UNESCO World Heritage Site brings the history of the monastery to life, gardens offer botanical highlights, and the Tobacco Museum explores the history of tobacco cultivation and processing. When looking for a hotel in Lorsch, you can consider whether you would like to focus on culture, gardens or outdoor activities.

Lorsch Abbey and UNESCO World Heritage

Lorsch Abbey was founded in 764 and added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991. At the World Heritage site, which opened in 2014, you can visit the grounds of Lorsch Abbey and Altenmünster, the King's Hall and church fragments; all are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The open-air laboratory offers a glimpse into how ordinary people and estate-owning families lived in the time of Charlemagne. The Zehntscheune exhibition depot provides insights into the history of the abbey.

A trained team offers guided tours of the abbey, including hourly in-person tours. Topics include monastic life and architecture, as well as property, the library, the scriptorium, the Lorsch Pharmacopoeia and the monks' healing arts. The Museum Centre, run by the State Palaces and Gardens of Hesse, provides more in-depth information about the history of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, particularly the history of education. This part of your stay brings together a range of perspectives: the site itself, life in the time of Charlemagne, and the history of education and healing arts.

Tobacco history and the town's collections

The Tobacco Museum illustrates the historical importance of tobacco cultivation and processing to Lorsch and the region. It is one of the largest specialist museums of its kind. The town's cultural offerings therefore include industrial history as well as the history of the monastery. The collections of the Town of Lorsch tell a part of German industrial history and are maintained on two levels by the Local History and Cultural Association.

Gardens with different focuses

The Lorsch Peony Garden traces the peony's development from a medicinal plant to an ornamental and showy perennial. It also features wild varieties and examples of Asian and European garden design, through to new cultivars. The garden is accessible year-round; there are no opening hours or admission fee. As access conditions may change, check them before your visit.

The herb garden at Lorsch Abbey is terraced and designed to be accessible. It is home to medicinal and culinary plants and makes a suitable place to rest and learn about monastic medicine. The two gardens offer different highlights: the Peony Garden focuses on the development of a plant and garden design, while the herb garden focuses on medicinal and culinary plants and their connection to monastic medicine.

Running routes in Lorsch

There is also a clear option for outdoor exercise: four running routes in Lorsch initially follow the same path along the fitness trail west of the Waldschwimmbad outdoor pool. They continue through the forest to Mannheimer Straße, where they branch off in different directions. Learning about the routes makes it possible to distinguish their shared section from the point where they split, without confusing their different courses.

In the wider Bergstraße destination

The wider Bergstraße destination also offers wine and landscape experiences that are not specific to the town of Lorsch. In Bergstraße district, gentle vineyards meet the Odenwald. In Heppenheim, the “Wine & Stone” adventure trail is about 6.9 kilometres long and has around 70 information stations. Regional wine offers another focus: Riesling is the Bergstraße's typical white wine grape, while Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) dominates among red wines. Visitors can sample Roter Riesling and other Bergstraße specialities directly from producers, in wine taverns or at wine festivals.

Discover more destinations: Einhausen, Bensheim, Neckarsteinach, Mörlenbach, Grasellenbach, Lampertheim, Wald-Michelbach, Lindenfels.

Go to the broader travel overview: Bergstraße.