Lorsch Abbey, founded in the eighth century, became one of the most powerful monasteries of the Carolingian empire, with vast estates, a famous library and the patronage of Charlemagne himself. Its first home, however, was not on the site of the later abbey, but a short distance away, on an island in the Weschnitz river, a place known as Altenmünster, the old minster. The ruins of that first foundation, a few low walls in a meadow, are a quiet counterpoint to the abbey's most famous building, the Torhalle, a gatehouse with a façade of red and white stone panels, one of the few surviving examples of Carolingian architecture. The abbey and Altenmünster together have been on the UNESCO list since 1991.
The abbey's library produced the Lorsch Pharmacopoeia, one of the oldest surviving medical texts in the German-speaking world, and the Lorsch Codex, a register of the abbey's lands and privileges, which is an invaluable source for the history of the region. Today, the abbey grounds include a herb garden, a museum and an experimental Carolingian farm, where you can see how people lived and worked in the early Middle Ages.
Lorsch lies in the flat Rhine plain, between the river and the Odenwald hills. Just east, the Bergstraße, the mountain road, runs along the foot of the hills, through towns like Bensheim and Heppenheim, with half-timbered houses, castles and vineyards. It is one of the first places in Germany where spring arrives, with almond and cherry trees in blossom. The Nibelungenstraße climbs from Bensheim into the Odenwald, with long curves and views, and the roads through the forests and valleys of the Odenwald are a favourite with riders from Frankfurt and Mannheim.
Lorsch, a town of thirteen thousand, has fuel, shops and restaurants, and Bensheim, four kilometres away, has more choice. The Hessian Ried around Lorsch is famous for its asparagus, harvested in spring and served with ham, potatoes and hollandaise sauce. Try a glass of wine from the Bergstraße, one of the smallest wine regions in Germany, or a local apple wine, if you are done for the day.