Founded around AD 760 and Unesco-listed in 1991, Lorsch Abbey, in the charming village of Lorsch, was an important religious site in its Carolingian heyday (8th to 10th centuries). Preserved medieval buildings include the rare, Carolingian-era Königshalle and the Altenmünster; museum exhibits cover the history of the abbey, life in Hesse, and tobacco, which was cultivated in Lorsch in the late 17th century.
Lorsch is 30km south of Darmstadt via the A5 or picturesque Bergstrasse (B3); there's no public transport.
