Lorscher Frühlingsmarkt with Bee and Poet Festival

Spring Market at the World Heritage Site

The Lorscher Frühlingsmarkt is more than a classic city market: for years, it has combined several thematic focuses on the same weekend. On the second weekend in May – May 9th and 10th, 2026 – the city center of Lorsch becomes a festival mile with the traditional Spring Market, the Bee and Poet Festival, and a Peony Show.

UNESCO World Heritage as a Backdrop

Lorsch has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991: The Lorsch Abbey with the famous Royal Hall (one of the oldest surviving buildings from the Carolingian era, built around 800) is an attraction for tourists from all over the world. The Spring Market takes place in the immediate vicinity of the abbey – the UNESCO history is palpable everywhere.

Bee and Poet Festival

The Bee Festival is a Lorsch specialty: Beekeepers from the region display beehives, sell honey, demonstrate the work of bees, and explain the beekeeping craft to children and adults. The parallel Poet Festival combines literature with spring – readings, lectures, booksellers, and publishers present themselves. The combination is typical of Lorsch's cultural policy: tradition, art, and science in one weekend.

Peony Show

The Peony Show is the third pillar of the weekend. Peony growers from the region display their show plants – the peonies, one of the most spectacular spring plants in Central Europe when in bloom. Lorsch and the Bergstraße region are climatically ideal for peonies, and many local growers specialize in this plant group.

Sunday Opening Hours

On Sunday, Lorsch's shops open for the verkaufsoffener Sonntag (Sunday opening hours) – a format that combines the city festival with retail. Those who want to shop on the weekend can combine it with a visit to the festival.

Bergstraße – Sunny Side of Hesse

Lorsch is located on the Hessische Bergstraße, the warmest region in Hesse. For centuries, the Bergstraße has been known for its wine, fruit trees, and early vegetation – peonies bloom in early May, the fruit trees have just finished flowering, and summer is just around the corner. This atmosphere is reflected in the Spring Market.