King’s Hall and a portion of the church. In 1991, the complex was honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most distinguished construction is the King’s Hall, whose exact date of construction and original function still remain unclear. It is an astoundingly intact example of the artistic will of the “Carolingian Renaissance.” Architecture and fragments of interior wall paintings form an ensemble of outstanding artistic quality and expressive power. Since the end of the 19th century, archeological research of the abbey of Saint Nazarius reveals a monastic community, or “Klosterstadt” in which a distinctive artisan center also existed at a very early period. Lorsch Abbey, which was first officially mentioned in 764, is among the most significant monastic centers of the European Early Middle Ages. In 767, it was moved from its former position to its eventual location. From 772 to 1232, it was an imperial abbey and in 876, served as the burial ground for the East Franconian Carolingian dynasty. As early as 850, its estates extended from the Dutch North Sea coast to what is now Switzerland, with particular density in the Middle Rhine area. The abbey had its own markets, trade settlements, and three mints. Its large library made Lorsch an important location for the consolidation and dissemination of knowledge until the abbey was dissolved during the Reformation in 1557. Following damages from the Thirty Years’ War and the systematic erosion of the building in the 18th century, nothing was left of the monastic community save for the Carolingian-era.