In the town of Lorsch, in the Bergstraße district in Hessen, Germany

 "Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself."

-- Hermann Hesse
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(in the Bergstraße region of Hesse, Germany) Lorsch is a charming town that is famous for its cloister, which dates back to the 8th century and showcases the Carolingian art and architecture. Lorsch also has a lovely town square (shown here), where you can admire the half-timbered houses, and browse the local shops. (Lorsch is easily accessible by train and offers a relaxing and cultural getaway.)

+ Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (German: Reichsabtei Lorsch), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km (6.2 mi). east of Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire.

+ Its chronicle is a fundamental document for early medieval German history. The significant remains visible today are the 9th-century Torhalle (gatehouse), part of the abbey church, some of the wall around the abbey, and other walls and parts of buildings adapted to modern use.

+ The abbey had been founded in 764 by the Frankish Count Cancor and his widowed mother, Williswinda, as a proprietary church (Eigenkirche) and monastery on their estate, Laurissa. It was dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The founders entrusted its government to Cancor's cousin, Chrodegang (Archbishop of Metz), who became its first abbot.

+ Many miracles were said to be wrought through the intercession of Saint Nazarius at Lorsch, and from all parts of Europe pilgrims in large numbers came to visit the shrine. In the course of the 9th century the library and scriptorium of Lorsch made it one of the cultural centers of Germany.

+ Few Carolingian manuscripts are better known than the Lorsch gospels, the Codex Aureus of Lorsch, now divided between the Vatican Library and the Batthyaneum Library in Alba Iulia, Romania; the carved ivory consular diptychs of Anastasius (consul 517) that were reused for its bindings are urbane classicising works of art in themselves, and embodiments of the classical tradition of Byzantium as it was transmitted to Lorsch in the time of Charlemagne.

+ In 876, shortly after the death of Ludwig der Deutsche (Louis the German), the abbey became the burial place for the first "German" king. His son, Ludwig der Jüngere (Louis the Younger, died 882), and his grandson Hugo (died 879) were also buried at Lorsch. The burial chapel (ecclesia varia) later continued to serve as a Royal burial ground, e.g., for Kunigunde (died after 915), wife of the first non-Carolingian king, Konrad I (Conrad I).

+ In 1248, Premonstratensian canons from Allerheiligen Abbey were given charge of the monastery with the sanction of Pope Celestine IV. In 1556, Elector Palatine Otto Heinrich implemented the Protestant Reformation in his territories and dissolved the monasteries. He removed the contents of the library to  Heidelberg, forming the famous Bibliotheca Palatinae pensioned off and sent away.