Tabakmuseum Lorsch

About the museum

The idea for a tobacco museum arose in 1982, after the Heimat- und Kulturverein Lorsch (local heritage and culture society) had shown objects and documents on tobacco growing and cigar making in a special exhibition. In 1995 the museum opened within the Lorsch Museum Center, with more than 500 square meters of exhibition space. Background: for about 300 years, tobacco fields and cigar factories shaped the town's economy. Cultivation began after the Thirty Years' War and peaked around 1920; the last cigar factory closed in 1983, and the last harvest was brought in in 1999.

The exhibition uses farm implements, factory equipment, photographs and re-created scenes to show how sowing, harvesting, drying and cigar making worked, and which trades and supplier businesses depended on them. It also asks what caused the decline and addresses smoking and health. A gallery of display cases holds accessories for snuff, chewing and smoking, including a large pipe collection, meerschaum cigar holders and what is said to be the largest smokable pipe in the world. The Manthe Collection of around 211,000 cigar bands and box labels is considered the largest of its kind in the world. On request, an archive room with graphics, posters and newspaper clippings is open.

In 2017 the Museum of Tobacco Cultivation was added: the last surviving tobacco barn in the Lorsch area, a heritage-listed wooden building near the Weschnitz river, shows the plant's path from seed to fermentation of the leaves over two floors. Next to it lies a tobacco field that is farmed again.

Highlights

• Largest smokable pipe in the world
• Manthe Collection of around 211,000 cigar bands and box labels
• Gallery of display cases on snuff, chewing and smoking
• Meerschaum cigar holders and a large pipe collection
• Scenes of work in the fields and in the cigar factory
• Museum of Tobacco Cultivation in the historic tobacco barn (guided tours only)

Permanent exhibitions

• Tabakmuseum – Tobacco growing, cigar production and smoking culture, shown through more than 500 objects, scenes and historical photographs.
• Museum des Tabakanbaus im historischen Tabakschuppen – The path of the tobacco plant from seed to fermented harvest is shown over two floors; accessible only on a guided tour.

Founded

1995

Operated by

Heimat- und Kulturverein Lorsch e.V.

Admission & discounts

Admission covers the entire Lorsch Museum Center (Tobacco Museum and the abbey history section).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All floors of the Museum Center are reachable by elevator, and there is enough space between exhibits for wheelchairs. Wheelchairs and folding chairs are available free of charge at the ticket desk. Accessible toilets in the entrance area of the Paul Schnitzer Hall. Accessible parking spaces on Nibelungenstraße (at no. 12) and behind the Volksbank (Bahnhofstraße 15–17). Assistance dogs are allowed.

Kids & families

Family ticket (2 adults, up to 4 children under 16) for €7; children up to their 6th birthday are admitted free.

Getting there & parking

The Museum Center lies in a car-free area and can only be reached on foot. Navigation address for the World Heritage site: Nibelungenstraße 13.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check

Coat lockers in the entrance area of the Paul Schnitzer Hall; museum shop at the ticket desk.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit