Blog #83
I recently spent three days in Mainz, Germany before taking a river cruise. Prior to going, I had not heard of Mainz but I had been to nearby Frankfurt numerous times. How I missed Mainz on previous visits to Germany is a mystery as it is a wonderful city with a beautiful old town section. I really enjoyed my time in this locale, visiting and sightseeing.
Location
Nestled along the Rhine and Main rivers, Mainz is still considered to be a port town even though the movement of a lot of trade goods and people have migrated to the highways and railways. The Rhine remains one of the most important rivers in Germany for the movement of goods while the Main River when it reaches Mainz, is a combination of the Red and White Main rivers. It is now considered to be a tributary of the Rhine and the canals of the Main, link the Rhine and the Danube rivers. In short, Mainz was an important German waterway junction in the past and it continues to be so today.
History of Mainz
I had been engaged in extensive travel and research tied to my Women of the North series of articles in the preceding six months and had done zero investigation into the locations I was about to visit on this trip. As a result, I arrived in Mainz, woefully unprepared and uninformed. I soon set about educating myself on the history of this city.
As I originally understood it, Mainz began life as a settlement populated by the Franks around 459AD. However, upon entering Mainz, I spotted what I thought looked like Roman ruins and sure enough, upon further investigation, I found that the Roman general, Nero Claudius Drusus founded what he called Castrum Mogontiacum on the site around the first century BC. Although it became the capital of what was known as Germanic Superior, it failed to thrive as a stand-alone city and both its importance and population were in decline when the Roman Empire fell. That is when the Franks entered the picture and liked both the location and the river transportation opportunities. Subsequently, Mainz and the surrounding community, enjoyed a period of steady population and trade growth over the next 400 years.
There was not a lot of historical information readily available to me upon my arrival at the train station and as a casual tourist who had failed to conduct even the briefest study of the city before merely showing up, I found myself paying particular attention to the architecture and monuments on offer. Those can be used as tell-tale indicators as to how well a city/town had done in the past. For example, it is clear from the size of the cathedrals built within the old town’s geographical area, that by the 900s, Mainz was a thriving city that had both the population and money to support a number of large churches. By 975, Saint Martin, the most palatial
cathedral in the old town, was built and had become the seat of the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz. The importance of a town can always be linked to population growth, and the presence of elevated religious or political hierarchy. It was clear that by 1000AD, religious and political leaders were installed in Mainz. This had become a very important city.
In my journey to discovering the history of this city, I learned that during the Middle Ages, Mainz was known as the center of Jewish life in Germany. I learned that this city has the second oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe and I was informed that the Jewish population arrived in that area at the time of Roman occupation. Unable to determine their exact arrival decade, I was able to learn that by the early 10th century, the Jewish population was thriving in Mainz and were protected by specific laws. For example, in 906, a church council had decreed that the murder of a jew was to be treated the same as the murder of a catholic.
The printing press was developed in the city in the 1400s and that revolutionized the world of printing. Consequently, there is a lot of information available about this bit of history and I may do a separate blog to talk about this and a few other unique industrial aspects of this city.
Mainz had quite the history with the city falling into, and out of, French hands. In 1793, it was in French hands when a German army surrounded the city and commenced bombardment. Within weeks, the French surrendered the city. But Napoleon captured it again and so it returned to the hands of the French. Napoleon loved the city and to this very day, the bell in the cathedral bears the inscription "Napoleon the Great".
Mainz did not fare well during the second world war and was heavily bombed by both the Americans and the British. I will talk about some of the damage in my descriptions of certain churches. What started as intermittent raids from time to time, culminated in a major bombing raid occurring on February 27, 1945. Approximately 435 bombers dropped 1,500 tons of bombs on Mainz which resulted in 80% of the city suffering damage.
Today, the city has been rebuilt and many of the historic buildings damaged during the war, have undergone reconstruction, rebuilding or modernization.
Where I stayed
For this visit, I stayed at the Erbacher Hof hotel which is located in the older part of the city and was an excellent base for exploring all the sites. My room was large, spacious and had a small balcony. The bathroom was modern and well presented. The breakfast was excellent and the staff very helpful and professional. Overall, I enjoyed my stay and I certainly would book there again. Pretty much everything I wanted to see and do was within easy walking distance of this hotel and there were restaurants and bars nearby. If you are taking a river cruise, the Rhine is very close and the starting point for my river cruise was a 7-minute taxi ride from the hotel.
Things to See and Do
I always start with a disclaimer that I consider churches, temples and cathedrals to be living museums. These are places where the money went in the early centuries. People worshiped and prayed at these locations and gave their money and/or made other types of donations (such as their artistic and building skills). Consequently, the churches had the money and/or power to hire the most skilled workers, artisans and architectural geniuses to design, build and decorate their buildings. There is always so much to see and learn from these structures.
St Martin
This building was at the top of my must-see list so it was the first place I visited. Fortunately for me, it was an easy ten-minute walk away from the hotel. St. Martin’s is a 1250-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral which is currently the site of the “episcopal see” of the Bishop of Mainz. Massive and surrounded by pedestrian squares and lovely buildings, this cathedral is an architectural gem. I could spend hours describing the interior beauty of this place but you need to see it to appreciate the stunning interior detailing and value the architectural transformations incorporated over the centuries. I have included a number of photographs in this blog to provide you with a small sampling of the beauty of both the interior and exterior.
St Stephan
This church is also located in the old city. When building started around 1267, the church was designed in the gothic style but it has been enlarged since its creation and gone through periods of reconstruction. Damaged over the years by various events (including a nearby magazine explosion in 1857, and during the second world war), the interior of the cathedral bears little resemblance to what it was in the early 1800s. The current blue stained-glass windows were designed by Marc Chagall between 1978 and 1985 and draw many visitors each year. I photographed the windows and found them colourful and different but not something that I consider exceptional. Have a look at my blog photos and decide for yourself whether they suit your artistic taste. I wish I could have seen the original windows so I could do a comparison. I did, however, get to listen to some beautiful organ music and recommend this church as a stop on a city visit.
St Emmeran
This is a gothic church building that has a Romanesque tower. The church dates from the 13th century. Also located in the old city, the church was badly damaged in the Second World War and rebuilt in the 1960s and 1970s with major changes. Half the church is blocked off and what remains is fairly plain and functional.
Augustiner Kirch
This is the only baroque church I have found in Germany and much to my dismay, you can enter it but you are stopped by a partition from advancing into the main area (nave) or anywhere else in the building. Built between 1768 and 1772, this is a beautiful structure which at the time of its construction, was heavily funded by rich patrons. The interior is opulent. It is located in the middle of old town, and, as mentioned, access is limited so photographs can only be taken from the entrance.
Gutenberg Museum
All I have from my visit here is a photo of the outside. The museum outgrew its location so they built a new one. Unfortunately, it is not yet open. So the old one was closed as they were moving exhibits to the new building which is not yet ready to receive visitors. Apparently it will soon be ready to welcome and delight people so clearly Mainz is giving me a reason to return.
Roman Ruins
As mentioned, the Romans first arrived in Mainz and occupied the area for approximately two centuries with the Romans leaving early in the 5th century (around 405). There are a number of locations in Mainz where you can see ruins, and the one we most enjoyed, was found in a shopping mall, within easy walking distance of old town. It took us about 20 minutes of walking from our hotel to reach the museum in the mall. Free to enter, we were invited down a flight of stairs to see the well protected ruins of The Temple of Isis. Reportedly founded during the 1st century, it was discovered in late 1999, during construction of the Römerpassage shopping mall. The little museum has artifacts, displays and a short video. There was also a guide on hand to respond to any questions we might have. As mentioned, it was free to enter but donations are appreciated to help preserve the exhibits.
The Roman Theatre
I was told the easiest way to reach this site was to walk from the rear of St Stephan’s and head northwest. The reason for that, is that St. Stephan’s is located on a hill, and the theatre is halfway down. The theatre was discovered between 1914 and 1916 and is reported to be the largest Roman building discovered north of the Alps. It is believed to have been able to hold over 10,000 people but because it is a ruin, it is hard to imagine how such a large group would fit into it and I found myself looking up images of what historians think it looked like in its prime, to get a better idea of it’s original appearance. The ruins are available to sightseers, but in its current state, it is not as impressive as other theatres found in Europe that are more complete structures.
Jewish Cemetery
Discovering the Jewish history in this city, led me to visit the old Jewish cemetery (judensand), which is now an UNESCO site. It too was located within easy walking distance of my hotel and very close to old town. Given Germany’s later persecution of the Jews just prior to, and during the second world war, I was surprised to see the cemetery had survived. The majority of the Jewish community was deported to Poland in 1942 and on February 10, 1943, the final liquidation of the remaining members of the Jewish community took place. As one of the historical pamphlets asked, how could a city, that had a long-standing Jewish population and established history, suddenly turn on this portion of their population?
Medieval Tower
I was told there were a few medieval towers in the city but I could only see one from my hotel room balcony, the Der Holzturm (wooden tower). Since it was close to my hotel and within sight, that is the one I went to see. Built in 1366, the gate tower has been used as a prison and watcher tower and today is a popular tourist attraction.
Old Town
If you are limited in your time in this city, I suggest you simply walk around the old town. Pedestrian malls, old buildings, interesting statues and historical markers abound. Shoppers and sightseers will not be bored as there is plenty of shopping and loads of little cafés and bars. You will definitely find something to interest you.
Food and Drink
The day I arrived, I visited a typical restaurant offering German standard, regional fare. The menu was in German but the waiter, seeing me use my translation app to look up the food listed on the menu, offered me an English menu. Over the next three days, I found the restaurants I visited had English menus. There is every type of food offered and there is something to suit all budgets. From fast food to various ethnic offerings, there is no lack of culinary choices. The prices are generally reasonable with mid range meals averaging 12 – 15 euros the norm for a full meal. Any type of drink is available. The local German beers and wines are excellent.
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