The Monastery of Lorsch was first mentioned in records in 764, and moved in 767 from the site of its original foundation (later named Altenmünster) to its subsequent location. From 772 until 1232 it was a King’s Abbey, and in 876 it became the place of rest for East Franconian, or German, monarchs. It was one of the most important monastic centres of the Carolingian age and owned land from the North Sea coast down to Switzerland. Its large library testified to the major role which this abbey played in the accumulation of knowledge until it was dissolved under the Reformation in 1556. The Thirty Years War wrought havoc, leaving nothing of this monastic community to posterity but the Carolingian structure known as the King’s Hall and the rump of an earlier Romanesque church. In 1991 the site was listed as a cultural monument in UNESCO’s World Heritage. 

The Museum Centre near the King’s Hall opened in 1995 as a regional museum. It actually unites three museums under one roof. One department is concerned with the history of monastic communities, describing factors which determined the culture of the religious orders in the early Middle Ages. Another illustrates the history of tobacco-growing and tobacco processing around Lorsch in the southern region of Hesse. The Local Ethnology Department of the Hesse Museum in Darmstadt has put together a display on everyday life in the territory.

The Museum Centre is funded by the state government of Hesse and the town council of Lorsch. It runs numerous education projects (including for adults) and a constant programme of exhibitions, lectures and concerts. The modern annexe is a convenient conference venue.

Opening hours:

Monastic History Department of the Stately Homes and Gardens Trust in Hesse; Local Ethnology Department of Hesse Regional Museum in Darmstadt; Tobacco Museum and Lorsch Municipal Collections. Open all year round Tu–Su 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Opens ­ specially on request. Closed 1st Jan.