Inside the Gatehouse of Lorsch Abbey
Although I have seen photos of Lorsch Abbey prior to coming here I wasn’t exactly prepared to know that the site itself is small. To top it off, the abbey isn’t actually the abbey itself but it is just the abbey gatehouse. I realize how much of a shame that the main abbey itself wasn’t preserved because the gatehouse itself was already very impressive, what more the actual abbey. I didn’t see any illustrations of how the abbey would have looked like and I can only imagine that it might have looked similar to the cathedral at Aachen which is a prime example of Carolingian architecture.
Going Through the Gatehouse of Lorsch Abbey
The gatehouse itself is no slouch either despite it being a “mere” gatehouse. The tall and pointed roof is typical of German traditional architecture and it also give a might more character and importance to the roof compared to just being a lid for the structure. The external walls of the gatehouse adorned with designs from the Carolingian era. But it seems that this is where the amazing stuff stops. The gatehouse itself is wide open for visitors to explore. In fact, there is much to see here. The gatehouse has three arches for people to pass through. So people can come and go as they please. Inside the gatehouse, there isn’t much to see actually. It is said that there are frescoes but I don’t see any here. All I can see here are the wooden beams above which support the upper floor of the gatehouse.
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