Mainz: more than you could expect
17/07/2024
Hi all! Today I will introduce you to a German city Mainz. My knowledge about the city is based on a summer I spent there for an internship. Mainz was a nice, interesting place and I was surprised how many cool things there were to see and do. Now I will share them with you!
First of all, basic information about Mainz. It is the capital of the state Rhineland-Palative in South-Western Germany, about an hour away from Frankfurt by train. Through the city flows the Rhine, one of the biggest rivers in Europe. To get around Mainz, you can take a tram, which is enough to tell you about the size of the city.
Let’s move on to the interesting things to do and see in Mainz!
Gutenberg- Museum
The most famous person from Mainz is Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the printing press (at least in Europe) in the 15th century. The Gutenberg-Museum in Mainz is dedicated to his work as well as the wider history of printing and books from around the world. In the museum, you can see a nice collection of old books and printing presses! Back in the days, books were pieces of art and the old printing presses were as impressive. The museum’s treasures are two original Bibles that Gutenberg printed in Mainz. On top of all this, the museum organizes demonstrations of how Gutenberg could have printed books in his time.
Even if you are not so into books, I would recommend visiting this museum! I think it is pretty well organized and demonstrates interestingly the history of printing and binding books from many different perspectives.
Mainzer Dom
Mainzer Dom (a.k.a. St. Martin’s Cathedral) is a huge landmark made of red stones in the center of the old town. You cannot miss it! The building of the cathedral started back in the late 10th century. Its style is mainly Romanesque with semicircular arches and small windows on thick walls. During the over 1000 years of the existence of the cathedral, many additions and renovations have added influences from other centuries and architectural styles. Most notable are probably the gothic side chapels with large, colorful windows. At least for a history student like me, the mélange of styles was quite fascinating!
The cathedral has also quite an interesting history. A few coronations of German kings took place there, and the cathedral suffered from fires on more than one occasion (might this be one of the reasons for the renovations). Oh, and it was also heavily bombed during the Second World War.
Altstadt of Mainz
Next to the church is Marktplatz, or market square, surrounded by pretty, old houses. However, they are not as old as they may seem. Like many cities in Germany during World War II, Mainz suffered from bombing, and a big part of the old town was destroyed. During the reconstruction, some buildings were rebuilt as if they had never been destroyed in the first place.
(As a history student, I have mixed feelings about this. I like seeing beautiful houses as much as any person, but at the same time, I feel a bit tricked and sad that some layers of history are hiding under the reconstruction.)
If you want to see at least pieces of the original old town, head to Augustinerstraße and the Altstadt. I am unsure how many buildings in this district are original, but I have understood that at least some half-timbered houses are from before the war. You can find them, for example, at the idyllic Kirschgarten square.
Along the street, you can find nice cafés, boutiques, and taverns to sip local wine. Something not to miss is Augustinerkirche. This church was built in the 18th century and has an impressive rococo-style decoration. Amazingly beautiful!
St-Stephan-Kirche
The churches of Mainz continue! A little away from the old town, on a hill, stands yet another church: St-Stephan-Kirche. It may not look like much outside, but you should still enter. After World War II, the church needed new windows and they chose blue stained glass. The sunlight filtered through the blue windows makes the atmosphere indoors magical! And very unique!
Roman ruins
In the city center of Mainz, there is a shopping center called Römerpassage. During its construction, they found something interesting at the site: Roman ruins.
The ruins were a sanctuary of two goddesses: Isis and Mater Magna, which is why the German name of the ruins is Helligtum der Isis und Mater Magna. Isis was an Egyptian goddess known as the wife of Osiris, the king of gods and father of Horus, whose manifestation the pharaohs were believed to be (it’s too long since I have read the Kane chronicles to remember anything about the Egyptian myths, heh!). Mater Magna was a name Romans called an Anatolian mother goddess Cybele. Romans really liked to mix religions.
During the excavations, they found the walls of the temple and artifacts such as statues and coins. The sanctuary presents interestingly the religious practices of the Roman period. The entrance to the archaeological site is… In the shopping center. Surprised?
If you are more interested in Romans in Mainz, there are other sights too, such as the Museum of Ancient Seafaring and Roman theatre. I did not visit these places, so I do not know much about them, but just to let you know there is more.
Ice cream!!!
Some recommendations for ice cream places in Mainz:
N’Eis. The Best! I don’t think I have ever eaten as good strawberry ice cream as in this place. So delicious! And I probably am not the only person who thinks like this – at least if we can assume anything about the length of the queue in front of their shops! N’Eis has two shops in Mainz: one a ten minutes walk from the station and another by the river Rhein.
If you start feeling like having an ice cream in the old town, a good place is Eis Cafè Rialto. This small, Italian-style ice cream café is located near the Kirschgarten square and serves a nice selection of flavors.
There are a couple of ice cream specialties in Germany. An interesting treat is an ice cream dish Spaghettieis or spaghetti ice cream. It consists of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream extruded in the shape of spaghetti, strawberry sauce representing tomato sauce, and something that looks like parmesan such as grated white chocolate. Very delicious! In Mainz, you can find spaghetti ice cream in Eis Cafè Rialto and other places.
Another ice cream specialty in Germany is Eiskaffee. It may sound like iced coffee, but it is not the same thing at all. In addition to coffee, the drink contains scoops of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Perfect drink for hot summer afternoons when you are craving coffee but it is too hot to drink something warm.
Other random things in Mainz:
- How to get there from the Frankfurt airport: it is easy. There is a train station for regional trains at the airport and you can just take a train to Mainz. Takes less than 30 minutes.
- There is an old Jewish cemetery quite near the station. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Mainz is located in a wine area of Germany and because of this, I have heard it is called the wine capital of the country. I got the impression that the locals are very proud of their wine. You can taste the local products in taverns, wineries, restaurants, and bars around the city. There is even a huge fine festival in late summer.
- Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, a food market takes place next to the Dom. You can buy fresh products, vegetables, ready-to-eat dishes and wine, of course!
- You can find a tourist office at the side of the Marktplatz. It is also the only souvenir shop I saw in Mainz (in addition to the museum shop in the Gutenberg-Museum).
- If you like vintage clothes, there are a couple of cool shops around the city center: Vinokilo and Janablume-Vintage.
- If you are looking for a place to taste traditional German beer or food, Eisgrub-Bräu is a cozy microbrewery where you can have all that. Of course, they also serve wine.
- I was not in Mainz during the carnival, but I got the impression that it is quite a big deal there. A small carnival museum (Fastnachtsmuseum) presents the history of carnivals in Mainz. Also, you can see carnival-themed statues around the city. The most impressive of them is Fastnachtsbrunnen in Schillerplatz.
- Interesting places near Mainz: There are so many cool cities near Mainz that I will probably write a post specially dedicated to them. To mention a few here, Frankfurt is of course just a short train trip away, and on the other side of the Rhein is Wiesbaden, which is also a nice city to visit.
I don’t know if you can notice, but I took a city tour in Mainz and most of the stuff in this post is from that tour. But yeah, that is all for now! If you are traveling in Germany, Mainz is worth adding to your itinerary! Until next time!
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