Lorsch () is a town in the Bergstraße district in

Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 60 km south of

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Lorsch is well known for the

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...

, which has been named a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Geography

Location

Lorsch lies about 5 km west of the '' Bergstraße'' in the Rhine rift just west of the

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried' ...

between

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

to the north and

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

to the south. The town lies not far from the

Weschnitz The Weschnitz is a right tributary of the Rhine running through the German states of Hesse and Baden-Württemberg. The name of the river traces to the Celtic god Visucius, who was worshiped in the region. The river source is in the Odenwald, ...

's lower reaches. To the town's southeast the Weschnitzinsel

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

is located.

Neighbouring communities

Lorsch borders in the north on the community of Einhausen and the town of

Bensheim Bensheim () is a town in the Kreis Bergstraße, Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhi ...

, in the east on the town of

Heppenheim Heppenheim (Bergstraße) () is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald. It is best known for being the birthplace of Sebastian Vettel, a four-time Formula One World Champion and ...

, in the southeast on the community of Laudenbach and the town of

Hemsbach Hemsbach () is a town with approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the European Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (Lower Neckar region until 20 May 2003 and Rhine-Neckar-Odenwald reg ...

(both in

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The administrative headquarters are based in the city Heidelberg, which is a district-free city. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Württe ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

), in the south on the town of

Lampertheim Lampertheim () is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany. In 1984, the town hosted the 24th '' Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location Lampertheim lies in the southwest corner of Hesse in the Rhine rift at the Biedensand Co ...

and in the west on the town of

Bürstadt Bürstadt () is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany, 7 km east of Worms, and 17 km north of Mannheim. In 1981, the town hosted the 21st '' Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location Bürstadt lies in the ...

History

(German: ''Kloster Lorsch'') was founded in 764 by the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

Count

Cancor Cancor (died 771) was a Frankish count associated with Lorsch Abbey. He was son of a noble lady Williswinda. Since Williswinda's only known husband before being widowed was named Robert (Rodbert), it has been proposed that Cancor was a son of C ...

and his mother Williswinda. The abbey was one of the greatest centres of

Carolingian art Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about 780 to 900—during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs—popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the ...

. Several

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

kings of Germany were buried there. The

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

was settled by

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

s from

Gorze Abbey Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s. History Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop Ch ...

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 Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...

and

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

, the abbey was a powerful Imperial monastery with holdings in the nearby

, on the Bergstraße and in

Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (, ) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is ...

, and also in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. In the civil war resulting from the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

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 The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Lorsch Abbey, Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwrit ...

). Nevertheless, in 1232, Lorsch was awarded to the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

and newly settled by

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

s. Thereafter, Mainz and the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

found themselves at odds over who should hold the ''

vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'' rights. Of the

abbey, which in parts has been unearthed, the gatehall (from about 800) has been preserved. It is today a

-protected

. In 1991, the town hosted the 31st

Hessentag The Hessentag (; ) is an annual event, both fair and festival, organized by the German state of Hesse to represent the different regions of Hesse. The events are shown for a week to the visitors, with an emphasis on cultural displays and exhibi ...

state festival.

Economy

The firm TrekStor GmbH & Co.KG was founded in 2001 in Lorsch and has its head office here.

Government

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results: The town executive (''Magistrat'') is made up of seven councillors. Three seats are allotted to the CDU, two to the SPD and one each to the PWL and the Greens.

Mayor

From 1993 to 2011, the mayor was Klaus Jäger (independent). He was re-elected on 7 February 1999 with 85.2% of the vote, and again on 13 February 2005 with 70.6%. Since 2011 the mayor has been Christian Schönung (CDU).

Coat of arms

Lorsch's

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might be described thus: Party per fess, above sable the King's Hall Or, below party per pale, argent a cross pattée fitchy gules and azure the Lion of Hesse springing. The King's Hall (''Königshalle''), the building declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, is borne as a

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

in the town's arms. The red cross pattée fitchy (that is, cross with “flattened” ends to three of the arms, and a point on the bottom one) is the coat of arms formerly borne by the Lorsch Abbey in its heyday. The Lion of Hesse, shown here springing (with both hindfeet on the ground) rather than rampant (with only one hindfoot on the ground), comes from Hesse's coat of arms (in which he is rampant) and symbolizes Lorsch's status as part of Hesse.

Town twinning

* Le Coteau,

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

since 1988 *

Zwevegem Zwevegem () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heestert, Moen, Belgium, Moen, Otegem, Sint-Denijs and Zwevegem. On January 1, 2019, Zweveg ...

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

since 1973 * Thal, an outlying centre of Ruhla,

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

since 1990 There is also a friendship arrangement with: *

Šternberk Šternberk (; ) is a town in Olomouc District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Šternberk Castle. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...

Olomouc Region Olomouc Region (; , ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia (''Morava'') and in a small part of the historical region of Czech Silesia (''České Sl ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. This came about through the sponsorship arrangement for those ethnic Germans driven out of the communities of Jívová (formerly Giebau), Pohorsch, Weska and Hraničné Petrovice (Petersdorf bei Giebau), who then settled in Lorsch.

Arts and culture

Museums

* ''Museumszentrum Lorsch'' ("Lorsch Museum Centre") with its departments of monastic history and folklore, and its tobacco museum. * ''Freilichtlabor Lauresham'' - open air museum, opened 2014/5

Theatre

* ''Kleinkunstbühne Sapperlot'' (

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

) * ''Musiktheater Rex''

Regular events

In Lorsch on Tuesday during

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

– locally known as ''Fastnacht'' – there is a Carnival parade with more than 100 attractions.

Historic buildings

with the ''Königshalle'' *

herb garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

s at Lorsch Abbey * Lorsch's town hall (built between 1714 and 1715) - current location of the Tourist Information and the Adult Education Center * Lorsch's oldest

timber-frame Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

house at Stiftstraße 19 * Lorsch's oldest guesthouse, the ''Weißes Kreuz'' * ''Wattenheimer Brücke'' (bridge)

Infrastructure

Transport

Through the town's municipal area run

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

A 67 and ''

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...

n'' 47 and 460. Lorsch's DB

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

lies on the ''Nibelungenbahn'' (railway) between

and

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

. 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 Höchst im Odenwald (officially ''Höchst i. Odw.'') is a municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Höchst lies 25 km east of Darmstadt, in the northern Odenwald at elevations between 175 and 400&nb ...

Public institutions

* ''Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald'' *

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

public

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

* ''Waldschwimmbad'': The Lorsch "Forest Swimming Pool" was built in the 1970s. The technology was thoroughly overhauled and expanded in 1994 and 1995.

Media

Lorsch has two regional daily newspapers, the ''Bergsträßer Anzeiger'' with its regional ''Lorsch/Einhausen'' edition, and the smaller circulation ''Starkenburger Echo''.

Education

* ''Wingertsbergschule'' – primary school. The Wingertsbergschule lies on a former sand dune in the Rhine rift on the northeastern edge of its feeder area, the town of Lorsch. Right nearby is found the widely known former Lorsch Abbey. The Wingertsbergschule was founded as a Bergstraße district primary school on 9 January 1974. It is a successor to the Karolinger Volksschule, which until 1972 was sponsored by the town of Lorsch. About 540 children nowadays attend the school and are taught by 31 teachers. * ''Werner-von-Siemens Schule'' –

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

. The Werner-von-Siemens Schule gets its name from the Berlin inventor

Werner von Siemens Ernst Werner Siemens ( von Siemens from 1888; ; ; 13 December 1816 – 6 December 1892) was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He ...

. After the Hesse Ministry of Education and the Bergstraße district decided to build a new Hauptschule-Realschule in the town's south (Lagerfeld) in 1971, the Werner-von-Siemens Schule was inaugurated. In November 1973, the school administration decided, along with the parents’ advisory committee to bestow the name Werner-von-Siemens Schule upon the school, which was then announced during an official ceremony on 24 June 1974.

Notable people

Honorary citizens

* (b. 14 February 1883 in Neustrelitz; d. 20 August 1970 in Mainz), archaeologist and archaeological monument caretaker, honoured 1965. * (b. 31 October 1905 in Münster, Westphalia; d. 5 December 1998), abbot, honoured 1965. * (b. 14 December 1913 in Weilburg; d. 1 October 2006), district administrator (retired), honoured 25 January 2001.

Sons and daughters of the town

Michael Meister Michael Günther Meister (born 9 June 1961) is a German mathematician and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state Hesse since 1994. In addition to his parliamentary wo ...

(born 1961), CDU politician * , opera singer

References

External links

*
World Heritage Site ''Kloster Lorsch'' website
{{Authority control Bergstraße (district)