Lorsch

Lorsch lies about 5 km west of the Bergstraße in the Rhine rift just west of the Odenwald between Darmstadt to the north and Mannheim to the south. The town lies not far from the Weschnitz's lower reaches. To the town's southeast the Weschnitzinsel conservation area is located.

Lorsch borders in the north on the community of Einhausen and the town of Bensheim, in the east on the town of Heppenheim, in the southeast on the community of Laudenbach and the town of Hemsbach (both in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg), in the south on the town of Lampertheim and in the west on the town of Bürstadt.

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

The town executive (Magistrat) is made up of seven councillors. Three seats are allotted to the CDU, two to the SPD and one each to the PWL and the Greens.

From 1993 to 2011, the mayor was Klaus Jäger (independent). He was re-elected on 7 February 1999 with 85.2% of the vote, and again on 13 February 2005 with 70.6%. Since 2011 the mayor has been Christian Schönung (PWL).

Lorsch’s arms might be described thus: Party per fess, above sable the King’s Hall Or, below party per pale, argent a cross pattée fitchy gules and azure the Lion of Hesse springing.

The King’s Hall (Königshalle), the building declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, is borne as a charge in the town’s arms. The red cross pattée fitchy (that is, cross with “flattened” ends to three of the arms, and a point on the bottom one) is the coat of arms formerly borne by the Lorsch Abbey in its heyday. The Lion of Hesse, shown here springing (with both hindfeet on the ground) rather than rampant (with only one hindfoot on the ground), comes from Hesse’s coat of arms (in which he is rampant) and symbolizes Lorsch’s status as part of Hesse.

• Le Coteau, Loire, France since 1988
• Zwevegem, West Flanders, Belgium since 1973
• Thal, an outlying centre of Ruhla, Thuringia since 1990

There is also a friendship arrangement with:

• Šternberk, Olomouc Region, Czech Republic.

This came about through the sponsorship arrangement for those ethnic Germans driven out of the communities of Jívová (formerly Giebau), Pohorsch, Weska and Hraničné Petrovice (Petersdorf bei Giebau), who then settled in Lorsch.

Codex Aureus

• Museumszentrum Lorsch ("Lorsch Museum Centre") with its departments of monastic history and folklore, and its tobacco museum.
• Freilichtlabor Lauresham - open air museum, opened 2014/5

• Kleinkunstbühne Sapperlot (cabaret)
• Musiktheater Rex

In Lorsch on Tuesday during Carnival – locally known as Fastnacht – there is a Carnival parade with more than 100 attractions.

Wattenheimer Brücke

• Lorsch Abbey with the Königshalle
• Benedictine herb gardens at Lorsch Abbey
• Lorsch's town hall (built between 1714 and 1715) - current location of the Tourist Information and the Adult Education Center
• Lorsch's oldest timber-frame house at Stiftstraße 19
• Lorsch's oldest guesthouse, the Weißes Kreuz
• Wattenheimer Brücke (bridge)

Lorsch railway station in May 2007 (trackside)

Lorsch railway station in May 2007 (street)

Through the town’s municipal area run Autobahn A 67 and Bundesstraßen 47 and 460.

Lorsch’s DB railway station lies on the Nibelungenbahn (railway) between Bensheim and Worms. Furthermore, there are bus connections with Lampertheim/Bürstadt, Heppenheim, Einhausen and Bensheim.

Lorsch lies on Hesse’s cycle path R9, which leads from Worms by way of Bensheim to Höchst im Odenwald.

• Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald
• Catholic public library
• Waldschwimmbad: The Lorsch "Forest Swimming Pool" was built in the 1970s. The technology was thoroughly overhauled and expanded in 1994 and 1995.

• Friedrich Behn (b. 14 February 1883 in Neustrelitz; d. 20 August 1970 in Mainz), archaeologist and archaeological monument caretaker, honoured 1965.
• Albert Ohlmeyer (b. 31 October 1905 in Münster, Westphalia; d. 5 December 1998), abbot, honoured 1965.
• Ekkehard Lommel (b. 14 December 1913 in Weilburg; d. 1 October 2006), district administrator (retired), honoured 25 January 2001.

• Michael Meister (born 1961), CDU politician
• Ernst-Dieter Suttheimer, opera singer