Lorsch Abbey

The town of Lorsch is probably not that well known in the tourist circuit. This is the first time I have heard of this place but it seems that it is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is was established in the eighth century, this makes it almost twelve hundred years old. This is astounding to me considering how small the structure is. I would have imagined that a castle or cathedral would have a better chance of surviving the ravages of time compared to this abbey. This abbey is considered to be one of the best examples of Carolingian architecture.

The term Carolingian refers to the time of Charlemagne who inspired a construction boom across the empire. In particular, taking ideas from the Romans and eventually making the style their own. Indeed from the examples that I have seen in this trip, I can say the Carolingian style is quite distinct. The structure currently preserved in Lorsch is actually not the abbey itself but it is a gatehouse. One can imagine that the abbey would have been much bigger than this but it seems its size has been whittled down over the centuries to what is it now. Not much else apart from the gatehouse remains here, which is a shame since the gatehouse itself is already very impressive. I can’t imagine how nice the rest of the abbey would have been.

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/LorschAbbey.kmz} zoom=19]