The historical buildings, monuments and museums in Mainz are only too happy to share their experiences with you. If you get near enough and look closely enough, you will learn quite a bit about our 2000-year-old city. The Roman temple, the royal palace, the Cathedral and Marc Chagall‘s Blue Window await you!
Mainz has been many things to many people: the Roman Castrum Moguntiacum, the Jewish Magenza, the residence and capital of the Prince Electors, an archbishopric, a university town and a fortified city of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation as well as the Mainz Republic. These are all epochs of “Golden Mainz” as the city has been known since its heyday in the Middle Ages.
What to See
The Old Town
Attractive squares, beautifully restored half-timbered houses and magnificent Baroque churches give the Old Town its charming character. Behind Rococo facades and in fine Baroque houses you will find elegant boutiques, cafés and wine taverns.
Mainz’s Old Town, its city center, is the pride and joy of the city-scene. Broad, roomy squares, lovingly-restored half-timbered houses and magnificent Baroque churches give Old Town its charming, “gemuetlich” character. Hidden behind its Rococo façades and hidden in its bourgeois Baroque houses are elegant boutiques, cafés, and wine bars clamoring for your attention.
Embark on a discovery journey through Old Mainz’s historical inner city: Mainz’s historic Old Town extends itself from the shadow of the southern façade of Mainzer Dom, St Martin’s Cathedral, to the Mainz-South Rail Station. Life pulsates in the zick-zack alleys with their funny names like Little Nose Way, Hering’s Fountain Alley or Corpse Yard. There’s always something happening in Old Town.
Kirschgarten/The Cherry Orchard
The Kirschgarten with its romantic half-timbered houses and Marian-Fountain counts as one of Mainz’s most beautiful little squares. There is precious little of the cherry orchard from which it got its name, only a cherry tree stump which can be found at the Zum Beymberg bakery, House #19. The unmistakable charm of this little patch of Old Town in addition to the architectural array of buildings and the pretty, decorated shops within this historical ambience is augmented by the fountain which was erected in 1932 in the style of a flowing Baroque fountain.
Gutenberg Museum
Today you can experience four thousand years of the history of writing from around the world in the Gutenberg Museum. Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz played one of the key roles in the process when he invented printing with moveable type and the printing press.
Our journey to this great city was primarily to catch up with friends we had hosted in Australia earlier in the year via the Couch Surfing Network of friends we had made.