Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch
The former Lorsch Abbey, and notably its gatehouse, is one of the rare remaining buildings from the Carolingian era. The Abbey was founded between 760 and 764.
Visit August 2006
Lorsch is a little town just south of Darmstadt. A few years ago I experienced a "near miss" in visiting this WHS, as I got stranded at a nearby train station on a Sunday.
This time I decided at the last minute to drop by in Lorsch during my planned visit to the Messel Pit Fossil Site.
I didn't expect too much, being warned by Martha Wiley's review below. Lorsch however is certainly prepared for an influx of visitors, as there is an enormous parking lot next to the former Abbey (it can hold hundreds of cars and tour buses). I parked right at the entrance, as there were few other vehicles about. A short walk with explanatory displays then takes you to the monument.
The landmark gatehouse is pretty, and of an remarkable age. There are some benches to sit on from where you can admire the building. A part of the church is also (or again) still standing. And you can walk around in the former gardens. Everything is well kept, as with all of the WHS I saw in Germany.
The Abbey of Lorsch may be a bit underwhelming, but it's a testimony to the Early Middle Ages when this part of Germany played an important role in the empire of Charlemagne and his successors. Reportedly there are also good frescoes inside the gatehouse, but they can only be seen by groups in pre-arrangement.
More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery
Reviews
David Berlanda (Italy / Czech Republic):
 In our trip to Germany we have seen the beautiful Torhalle of the small town of Lorsch, one of the few Carolingian buildings that retains its original aspect. It is the former entrance to an abbey founded in 760-764 by its first abbot Chrodegang, also the bishop of Metz, who brought here monks from Gorze before 764 and in 765 donated to them the relics of Saint Nazarius, acquired in Rome. In 767, Thurincbert, one of his brothers, donated new lands in sand dunes safe from the floods 500 metres from the original site and in 774 the new church of Saints Peter, Paul and Nazarius was consecrated by the archbishop of Mainz, in the presence of Charlemagne. Between 778 and 837 the abbots Helmerich, Richbod and Adelog made some improvements, as remembered in the chronicles of the abbey. From the death of Louis II the German (876), it became the burial place of the Carolingian kings and his son Louis III the Young (876-882) built a crypt for the remains of himself and his father and there were also buried his son Hugo and Cunegonda, wife of Conrad I; the abbots obtained the title of princes. The abbey flourished in the 10th century, but was destroyed by fire in 1090 and reconstructed in the 12th century. In the 13th century Lorsch was incorporated (1232) in the Electorate of Mainz and lost many of its privileges and first the Cistercians and later the Premonstratensians replaced the Benedictines; after another fire the church was reconstructed. The abbey slowly deteriorated, in 1461 was included in the Palatinate, in 1623 in the Electorate of Mainz, in 1803 in that of Hesse. In the Thirty Years’ War (1620-21), the Spanish armies pillaged the abbey, in state of abandon since the Reformation. The marvellous Torhalle with two storeys, the lower with three arches, supported by pillars with columns, the upper with three small windows, decorated with columns and arches (three for each one of those of the lower storey) and a mosaic made of white and red tiles. Apart from the Torhalle, within the former boundaries of the abbey remain part of the Romanesque church, few ruins of the medieval monastery and classical buildings of the period in which the town was under the Electorate of Mainz. The second part of the WHS is constituted by the ruins of the church of the Altenmunster, the oldest abbey founded in 764.
I liked very much the Torhalle because of its beautiful architecture and decorations, but I was very disappointed by the Romanesque church, absolutely ordinary, and the Altenmuster, because it is not much more than a basement of a building. The Torhalle is worth of visit if you are in Hesse, but not the Romanesque church and the Altenmunster, even if when you will be there, it will be however appropriate to see them. Similarly the Torhalle justifies its inscription on the WHS, the church and the Altenmunster not, because they aren’t remarkable buildings, and could have been inscribed only as links to the Torhalle, the first as part of the same complex, the second because it’s of the same period. The state of conservation of the Torhalle is very high, but the other buildings of the former abbey and the Altenmunster are ruined and the Romanesque church has survived only in part; the authenticity of the Carolingian buildings is high, but there are some successive buildings in the area of the former abbey. I was also disappointed by the fact that the Torhalle, that contains fine Carolingian frescos, and the church were closed. Apart from the WHS, in Lorsch there are some nice half-timbered houses, the nicest of which is the town hall. You can easily reach Lorsch from its exit on the highway A67 going from Mannheim to Frankfurt. It’s quite hard to find out the Altenmunster and you have to look carefully for the indications in the streets near the Torhalle (Nibelungenstrasse); you have to park the car in the countryside and walk about 500 metres to reach it.
Photo: Lorsch - Abbey - Torhalle |
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Martha Wiley (USA):
Lorsch a World Heritage Site? Whatever for? This was the most disappointing site I've been to yet. It is billed as "Abbey and Altenmuenster of Lorsch" but it turns out that most of the resource is underground (as in actually in the ground covered with dirt) so can't be seen. There are 2 buildings above ground, a small (but well-photographed) gatehouse and a church which is used for storage so can't be entered. There is an active archaeological dig going on in a corner of the site but it is fenced and screened with tarps so you can't see that either. The museum in town did have the results of underground mapping of the remnants of the abbey, which might be interesting to some people for about 5 minutes. Bur overall, I say, go to Maulbronn if you want to see an abbey in this part of Germany. |
| Date posted: July 2005 |
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