Its landscape clearly shows that the wine town of Lorch at the mouth of the Wisper belongs to the Middle Rhine region. Culturally and politically though, the people of Lorch still feel part of the Hessian Rheingau – with good reason, as the township of Lorchhausen is the most northern community of the federal Land of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Even in the Middle Ages, Lorch served as the northern cornerstone of the diocese of Mainz facing towards the Rheingau. Its position at the border was quite unique in the years after the First World War, when Lorch was the ‘capital’ of the Bottleneck Free State.
The reason is that the victorious powers had marked their occupation zones by describing circles around Coblenz and Mainz with callipers. But the two circles ended somewhat above and beneath the town, so that the remaining area, shaped like a bottleneck, stayed outside both occupation zones. Named ‘Laureacum’ by the Romans, Lorch is one of the oldest towns on the Rhine. Although it was first mentioned in 1085, archaeological finds confirmed that it had already been a settlement in the Roman and Celtic periods.

The numerous half-timbered houses in the medieval alleys with their archways, angles, and niches make for the romantic charm of the town. Another interesting site is the Catholic parish church of St. Martin with its precious carved high altar. This Gothic building was set up in the 13th century on the remains of a late Roman basilica, parts of which still exist today.
The Hilchenhaus from the 16th century is known as the ‘most beautiful Renaissance building on the Middle Rhine’. Visitors should also take a look at the frowning trunk, an old fortification tower from 1527, and the leper house with its circular tower.
The ruins of Nollig ‘Castle’, a habitable watchtower that once formed part of the town fortifications, rise high above the town. The city’s museum of local history has a remarkable collection of sculptures from the Middle Ages.