Exhibition grounds 1901 and Worms Synagogue Compound

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Exhibition grounds 1901

   In 1899 the Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse did something unusual for a ruler: he invited a group of young artists to Darmstadt and gave them a hill to build on. The Mathildenhohe, a low rise on the edge of the old town, became an artists' colony where architects, painters and designers could live, work and experiment. The first great exhibition, in 1901, was called A Document of German Art, and the houses and studios built for it were part of the show. UNESCO listed the colony as a World Heritage site in 2021.

   Read the complete Exhibition grounds 1901 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Exhibition grounds 1901 is where the day begins. Next is Ruine Altenmuster.

2. 2. Ruine Altenmuster

   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.

   Read the complete Ruine Altenmuster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ruine Altenmuster comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Worms Synagogue Compound.

3. 3. Worms Synagogue Compound

   In the Middle Ages, three Rhineland cities, Speyer, Worms and Mainz, were the centres of Jewish learning in northern Europe, and they gave their initials, in Hebrew, to a community known as ShUM. The Jewish communities of these cities developed traditions, laws and customs that influenced Ashkenazi Jewry for centuries, and their monuments were listed together by UNESCO in 2021. In Worms, the synagogue compound includes the synagogue, rebuilt after its destruction by the Nazis in 1938, the women's synagogue, the mikveh, a ritual bath dating from the twelfth century, and the Rashi house, now a Jewish museum, named after the great medieval scholar who studied here.

   Read the complete Worms Synagogue Compound write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 52 km into the recorded legs you reach Worms Synagogue Compound. Next is back through Ruine Altenmuster.

4. 4. back through Ruine Altenmuster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ruine Altenmuster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Ruine Altenmuster, late in the day. Next is Exhibition grounds 1901.

5. 5. Exhibition grounds 1901

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Exhibition grounds 1901 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Exhibition grounds 1901. That is the ride.