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Mainz () is the capital and largest city of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
, opposite to the place that the
Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
joins the Rhine. Downstream of the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Mainz on the left bank, and
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, the capital of the neighbouring state
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
, on the right bank. Mainz is an
independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
with a population of 218,578 (as of 2019) and forms part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Mainz was founded by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
in the 1st century BC as a military fortress on the northernmost frontier of the empire and provincial capital of
Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...
. Mainz became an important city in the 8th century AD as part of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, capital of the
Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...
and seat of the
Archbishop-Elector of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
, the
Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
of Germany. Mainz is famous as the birthplace of
Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...
, the inventor of a movable-type
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
, who in the early 1450s manufactured his first books in the city, including the
Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed b ...
. Mainz was heavily damaged in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
; more than 30 air raids destroyed most of the historic buildings. Mainz is notable as a
transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
, for wine production, and for its many rebuilt historic buildings. One of the
ShUM-cities The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
, Mainz and its Jewish cemetery is part of the UNESCO
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.


Geography


Topography

Mainz is on the 50th latitude north, on the left bank of the Rhine. The east of the city is opposite where the
Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
falls into it. The population in early 2012 was 200,957. A further 18,619 people live mainly elsewhere but have a
second home Second Home is Marié Digby's second album and first Japanese studio album, released on March 4, 2009. Track list Marié Digby albums 2009 albums {{2000s-pop-rock-album-stub ...
in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area of 5.8 million people. Mainz can easily be reached from
Frankfurt International Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres. ...
in 25 minutes by commuter railway Line S8. Mainz is a
river port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...
city as the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
which connects with its main tributaries, such as the
Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...
, the Main and, later, the
Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
and thereby continental Europe with the
Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of East Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List o ...
and thus the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. Mainz's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to the Rhine historically handling much of the region's waterborne cargo. Today's huge container port hub allowing trimodal transport is north of the town centre. The river moderates climate. It makes waterfront neighbourhoods slightly warmer in winter and cooler in summer. After the last ice age, sand dunes were deposited in the Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The
Mainz Sand Dunes The Mainz Sand Dunes (german: Großer Sand) are a small geological and botanical supra-region and important nature preserve in Mainz, Germany. Within this protected area rare plants and animals can be found. Some of the species represented here, suc ...
area is now a nature reserve with a unique landscape and rare ''steppe'' vegetation for this area. While the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC on the Kästrich hill, the associated vici and
canabae A (plural ) was the Latin term for a hut or hovel and was later (from the time of Hadrian) used typically to mean a town that emerged as a civilian settlement () in the vicinity of a Roman legionary fortress (). A settlement that grew up outs ...
(civilian settlements) were erected towards the Rhine. Historical sources and archaeological findings both prove the importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine.


Climate

Mainz experiences an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Cfb'').


History


Roman Mogontiacum

The Roman stronghold or ''
castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
Mogontiacum'', the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general
Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberius ...
perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by
Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
the existence of ''Mogontiacum'' is well established by four years later (the account of the death and funeral of
Nero Claudius Drusus Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38–9 BC), also called Drusus the Elder, was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a patrician Claudian on his birth father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family. He was the ...
), though several other theories suggest the site may have been established earlier. Although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the
Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...
, the name of Mainz is not from ''Main'', the similarity being perhaps reinforced by
folk-etymological Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
reanalysis. ''Main'' is from Latin ''Moenis'' (also ''Moenus'' or ''Menus''), the name the Romans used for the river.
Linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
analysis of the many forms that the name "Mainz" has taken on make it clear that it is a simplification of ''Mogontiacum''. The name appears to be
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
and ultimately it is. However, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. The Roman soldiers defending
Gallia Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during Re ...
had adopted the Gallic god
Mogons Mogons or Moguns was a Celtic god worshiped in Roman Britain and Gaul. The main evidence is from altars dedicated to the god by Roman soldiers. Etymology According to J.T. Koch at the University of Wales, the various alternations of the name ' ...
(Mogounus, Moguns, Mogonino), for the meaning of which etymology offers two basic options: "the great one", similar to Latin magnus, which was used in aggrandizing names such as ''Alexander magnus'', "Alexander the Great" and ''Pompeius magnus'', "Pompey the great", or the god of "might" personified as it appears in young servitors of any type whether of noble or ignoble birth. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its strategic position at the confluence of the Main and the Rhine. The town of ''Mogontiacum'' grew up between the fort and the river. The castrum was the base of Legio XIV ''Gemina'' and XVI ''Gallica'' (AD 9–43), XXII ''Primigenia'', IV ''Macedonica'' (43–70), I ''Adiutrix'' (70–88), XXI ''Rapax'' (70–89), and XIV ''Gemina'' (70–92), among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the
Classis Germanica The ''Classis Germanica'' was a Roman fleet in Germania Superior and Germania Inferior. Besides the Channel Fleet ('' Classis Britannica''), it was one of the largest naval forces of the Roman Empire, ranking above all other provinci ...
. Remains of Roman troop ships (
navis lusoria A ''navis lusoria'' (, plural ) is a type of a small military vessel of the late Roman Empire that served as a troop transport. It was powered by about thirty soldier- oarsmen and an auxiliary sail. Nimble, graceful, and of shallow draft, such a v ...
) and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in the ''Museum für Antike Schifffahrt''. A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and
Magna Mater Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible foreru ...
was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public. The city was the provincial capital of
Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...
, and had an important funeral monument dedicated to Drusus, to which people made pilgrimages for an annual festival from as far away as
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
. Among the famous buildings were the largest
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
north of the Alps and a bridge across the Rhine. The city was also the site of the assassination of emperor
Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...
in 235.
Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
forces under
Rando Rando may refer to: *a Germanic short name, from names beginning with the element ''rand'' "shield" * Rando (king) (4th century), king of the Alemanni * Rando Ayamine (born 1974), manga artist * Rando (''YuYu Hakusho''), a fictional character fro ...
sacked the city in 368. From the last day of 405 or 406, the Siling and Asding
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
, the
Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...
, the
Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
, and other Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine, possibly at Mainz. Christian chronicles relate that the bishop,
Aureus The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden', used as a noun) was a gold coin of ancient Rome originally valued at 25 pure silver ''denarii'' (sin. denarius). The ''aureus'' was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th cent ...
, was put to death by the Alemannian Crocus. The way was open to the sack of
Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
and the invasion of Gaul. Throughout the changes of time, the Roman castrum never seems to have been permanently abandoned as a military installation, which is a testimony to Roman military judgement. Different structures were built there at different times. The current citadel originated in 1660, but it replaced previous forts. It was used in World War II. One of the sights at the citadel is still the
cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
raised by legionaries to commemorate their
Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberius ...
.


Frankish Mainz

Through a series of incursions during the 4th century
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
gradually lost its Belgic ethnic character of formerly Germanic tribes among Celts ruled by Romans and became predominantly influenced by the
Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
. The Romans repeatedly re-asserted control; however, the troops stationed at Mainz became chiefly non-Italic and the emperors had only one or two Italian ancestors in a pedigree that included chiefly peoples of the northern frontier. The last emperor to station troops serving the western empire at Mainz was
Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...
(reigned 425–455), who relied heavily on his ''Magister militum per Gallias'',
Flavius Aëtius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed pol ...
. By that time the army included large numbers of troops from the major Germanic confederacies along the Rhine, the Alamanni, the
Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
and the
Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
. The Franks were an opponent that had risen to power and reputation among the Belgae of the lower Rhine during the 3rd century and repeatedly attempted to extend their influence upstream. In 358 the emperor Julian bought peace by giving them most of
Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...
, which they possessed anyway, and imposing service in the Roman army in exchange. European factions in the time of master Aëtius included Celts, Goths, Franks, Saxons, Alamanni, Huns, Italians, and Alans as well as numerous other minor peoples. Aëtius played them all off against one another in a masterly effort to keep the peace under Roman sovereignty. He used Hunnic troops a number of times. At last, a day of reckoning arrived between Aëtius and
Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
, both commanding polyglot, multi-ethnic troops. Attila went through Alsace in 451, devastating the country and destroying Mainz and Trier with their Roman garrisons. Shortly after he was thwarted by
Flavius Aëtius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 454) was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed pol ...
at the
Battle of Châlons The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...
, the largest of the ancient world. Aëtius was not to enjoy the victory long. He was assassinated in 454 by the hand of his employer, who in turn was stabbed to death by friends of Aëtius in 455. As far as the north was concerned this was the effective end of the Roman empire there. After some sanguinary but relatively brief contention a former subordinate of Aëtius,
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
, became commander in chief, and was named Patrician. His father was a Suebian; his mother, a princess of the
Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
. Ricimer did not rule the north directly but set up a client province there, which functioned independently. The capital was at
Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...
. Even then its status was equivocal. Many insisted it was the
Kingdom of Soissons The Kingdom or Domain of Soissons was a rump state of the Western Roman Empire in northern Gaul, between the Somme and the Seine, that lasted for some 25 years during Late Antiquity. The rulers of the rump state, notably its final ruler Syagrius, ...
. which extended across northern France and was ruled in the name of Rome by Aegidius, an ally of emperor Majorian, 457–461, who died about 464. He was succeeded by his son, Syagrius, who was defeated by Clovis in 486. Previously the first of the
Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
s,
Clodio Chlodio (probably died after 450), also Clodio, Clodius, Clodion, Cloio or Chlogio, was a Frankish king who attacked and then apparently ruled Roman-inhabited lands around Cambrai and Tournai, near the modern border of Belgium and France. He is k ...
, had been defeated by Aëtius at about 430. His son,
Merovaeus Merovech (french: Mérovée, Merowig; la, Meroveus; 411 – 458) was the King of the Salian Franks, which later became the dominant Frankish tribe, and the founder of the Merovingian dynasty. Several legends and myths surround his person. He is ...
, fought on the Roman side against Attila, and his son, Childeric, served in the domain of Soissons. Meanwhile, the Franks were gradually infiltrating and assuming power in this domain from
Toxandria Texandria (also Toxiandria; later Toxandria, Taxandria), is a region mentioned in the 4th century AD and during the Middle Ages. It was situated in the southern part of the modern Netherlands and in the northern part of present-day Belgium, current ...
(northern Belgium which had been given to them by the Romans to protect as allies). They also moved up the Rhine and created a domain in the region of the former Germania Superior with capital at
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
. They became known as the
Ripuarian Franks Ripuarian or Rhineland Franks (Latin: ''Ripuarii'' or ''Ribuarii'') were one of the two main groupings of early Frankish people, and specifically it was the name eventually applied to the tribes who settled in the old Roman territory of the Ubii, ...
as opposed to the
Salian Franks The Salian Franks, also called the Salians (Latin: ''Salii''; Greek: Σάλιοι, ''Salioi''), were a northwestern subgroup of the early Franks who appear in the historical record in the fourth and fifth centuries. They lived west of the Lowe ...
. Events moved rapidly in the late 5th century. After the
fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Ancient Rome, Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rul ...
in 476, the
Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
under the rule of
Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...
gained control over western Europe by the year 496. Clovis, son of Childeric, became king of the Salians in 481, ruling from
Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...
. In 486 he defeated
Syagrius Syagrius (430 – 486 or 487 or 493–4) was a Roman general and the last ruler of a Roman rump state in northern Gaul, now called the Kingdom of Soissons. Gregory of Tours referred to him as King of the Romans. Syagrius's defeat by king Clovis I ...
, the last governor of the Soissons domain, and took northern France. He extended his reign to
Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
and
Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...
in 490–491, and repelled the Alamanni in 496. Also in that year, he converted to Catholicism from non-
Arian Christianity Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
. Clovis annexed the kingdom of Cologne in 508. Thereafter, Mainz, in its strategic position, became one of the bases of the Frankish kingdom. Mainz had sheltered a Christian community long before the conversion of Clovis. His successor
Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dy ...
reinforced the walls of Mainz and made it one of his seats. A
solidus Solidus (Latin for "solid") may refer to: * Solidus (coin), a Roman coin of nearly solid gold * Solidus (punctuation), or slash, a punctuation mark * Solidus (chemistry), the line on a phase diagram below which a substance is completely solid * S ...
of
Theodebert I Theudebert (also Theodobert, Theudibert, Theodebert, Theodbert, Dietbert, Tibert, etc.E. W. Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'', 18561168f./ref>) is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theo-'' "people" and ''bert'' "brig ...
(534–548) was minted at Mainz.
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
(768–814), through a succession of wars against other tribes, built a vast Frankish empire in Europe. Mainz from its central location became important to the empire and to Christianity. Meanwhile, language change was gradually working to divide the Franks. Mainz spoke a dialect termed Ripuarian. On the death of Charlemagne, distinctions between France and Germany began to be made. Mainz was not central any longer but was on the border, creating a question of the nationality to which it belonged, which descended into modern times as the question of Alsace-Lorraine.


Christian Mainz

In the early
Middle Age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
s, Mainz was a centre for the
Christianisation Christianization (American and British English spelling differences#-ise.2C -ize .28-isation.2C -ization.29, or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of ...
of the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
and
Slavic peoples Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic language, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout ...
. The first archbishop in Mainz,
Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
, was killed in 754 while trying to convert the
Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...
to Christianity and is buried in
Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...
. Boniface held a personal title of archbishop; Mainz became a regular archbishopric see in 781, when Boniface's successor
Lullus Saint Lullus (Lull or Lul) (born about 710 AD in Wessex, died 16 October 786 in Hersfeld) was the first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface, and first abbot of the Benedictine Hersfeld Abbey. He is historiographically conside ...
was granted the
pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolit ...
by
Pope Adrian I Pope Adrian I ( la, Hadrianus I; died 25 December 795) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 to his death. He was the son of Theodore, a Roman nobleman. Adrian and his predecessors had to contend with periodic ...
.
Harald Klak Harald 'Klak' Halfdansson (c. 785 – c. 852) was a king in Jutland (and possibly other parts of Denmark) around 812–814 and again from 819–827."Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories" (1970), translation by Bernh ...
, king of Jutland, his family and followers, were baptized at Mainz in 826, in the abbey of St. Alban's. Other early archbishops of Mainz include
Rabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of the ...
, the scholar and author, and
Willigis Willigis ( la, Willigisus; german: Willigis, Willegis; 940 – 23 February 1011 AD) was Archbishop of Mainz from 975 until his death as well as archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire. Life Willigus was born in the Duchy of Saxony, possibly at ...
(975–1011), who began construction on the current building of the
Mainz Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , iso regi ...
and founded the monastery of St. Stephan. From the time of Willigis until the end of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
in 1806, the
Archbishops of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
were archchancellors of the Empire and the most important of the seven Electors of the German emperor. Besides Rome, the
diocese of Mainz The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...
today is the only
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
in the world with an
episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...
that is called a
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
(''sancta sedes''). The Archbishops of Mainz traditionally were ''
primas germaniae Primas Germaniae is a historical title of honor for the most important Roman Catholic bishop (the Primate) in the German lands. Throughout the history of the Holy Roman Empire, it was claimed by the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier, Magdeburg and Salzb ...
'', the substitutes of the Pope north of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
. In 1244, Archbishop Siegfried III granted Mainz a city charter, which included the right of the citizens to establish and elect a city council. The city saw a
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
between two archbishops in 1461, namely
Diether von Isenburg Diether von Isenburg ( 14127 May 1482) was twice Archbishop (1459–1461 and 1475–1482) and founder of the University of Mainz. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was ''ex officio'' Elector and Lord Chancellor of Germany. Biography Diether was a son ...
, who was elected Archbishop by the
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
and supported by the citizens, and
Adolf II von Nassau Adolph II (or III) of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein (German: Adolf II. von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein) (c. 1423 – 6 September 1475) was Archbishop of Mainz from 1461 until 1475. Adolph was a son of Count Adolph II of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein. In 14 ...
, who had been named archbishop for Mainz by the pope. In 1462, Archbishop Adolf raided the city of Mainz, plundering and killing 400 inhabitants. At a tribunal, those who had survived lost all their property, which was then divided between those who promised to follow Adolf. Those who would not promise to follow Adolf (amongst them
Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...
) were driven out of the town or thrown into prison. The new archbishop revoked the city charter of Mainz and put the city under his direct rule. Ironically, after the death of Adolf II his successor was again Diether von Isenburg, now legally elected by the chapter and named by the Pope.


Early Jewish community

The Jewish community of Mainz dates to the 10th century CE. It is noted for its religious education. Rabbi
Gershom ben Judah Gershom ben Judah, (c. 960 -1040) best known as Rabbeinu Gershom ( he, רבנו גרשום, "Our teacher Gershom") and also commonly known to scholars of Judaism by the title ''Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah'' ("Our teacher Gershom the light of the ...
(960–1040) taught there, among others. He concentrated on the study of the
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, creating a German Jewish tradition. Mainz is also the legendary home of the martyred Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, composer of the
Unetanneh Tokef ''Untanneh'' ''Tokef'', ''Unthanneh Toqeph'', ''Un'taneh Tokef'', or ''Unsanneh Tokef''   (ונתנה תקף) ("''Let us speak of the awesomeness ''") is a piyyut that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy in some trad ...
prayer. The Jews of Mainz,
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
and
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...
created a supreme council to set standards in Jewish law and education in the 12th century. The city of Mainz responded to the Jewish population in a variety of ways, behaving in a capricious manner towards them. Sometimes they were allowed freedom and were protected; at other times, they were persecuted. The Jews were expelled in 1012, 1462 (after which they were invited to return), and in 1474. Jews were attacked in the Rhineland massacres of 1096 and by mobs in 1283. Outbreaks of the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
were usually blamed on the Jews, at which times they were massacred, such as the burning of 11 Jews alive in 1349. Outside of the medieval city centre, there is a Jewish cemetery, with over 1500 headstones dating from the 11th through the 19th centuries. The earliest known gravestone is date to 1062 or 1063, and these early gravestones resemble those found in Italy in the late 10th century. Medieval memorial stones which do not explicitly mark graves are also found in the cemetery. Nowadays the Jewish community is growing rapidly, and a new synagogue by the architect
Manuel Herz Manuel Herz is an architect with his own practice in Basel, Switzerland and Cologne, Germany. He was educated at the RWTH Aachen in Germany and at the Architectural Association in London. He has received numerous prizes and awards, published wid ...
was constructed in 2010 on the site of the one destroyed by the Nazis on ''
Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
'' in 1938. The community itself has 1,034 members, according to the
Central Council of Jews in Germany The Central Council of Jews in Germany (German name: Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) is a federation of German Jews. It was founded on 19 July 1950, as a response to the increasing isolation of German Jews by the international Jewish communi ...
, and at least twice as many Jews altogether since many are unaffiliated with Judaism.


Republic of Mainz

During the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the French Revolutionary army occupied Mainz in 1792; the
Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
, Friedrich Karl Josef von Erthal, had already fled to
Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...
by the time the French marched in. On 18 March 1793, the
Jacobins , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...
of Mainz, with other German democrats from about 130 towns in the Rhenish Palatinate, proclaimed the '
Republic of Mainz The Republic of Mainz was the first democratic state in the current German territoryThe short-lived republic is often ignored in identifying the "first German democracy", in favour of the Weimar Republic; e.g. "the failure of the first German ...
'. Led by
Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...
, representatives of the Mainz Republic in Paris requested political affiliation of the Mainz Republic with France, but too late:
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
was not entirely happy with the idea of a democratic free state on German soil (although the French dominated Mainz was neither free nor democratic). Prussian troops had already occupied the area and besieged Mainz by the end of March 1793. After a
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
of 18 weeks, the French troops in Mainz surrendered on 23 July 1793; Prussians occupied the city and ended the Republic of Mainz. It came to the
Battle of Mainz The Battle of Mainz (29 October 1795) saw a Habsburg army led by François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt launch a surprise assault against four divisions of the French ''Army of Rhin-et-Moselle'' directed by François I ...
in 1795 between Austria and France. Members of the Mainz
Jacobin Club , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...
were mistreated or imprisoned and punished for treason. In 1797, the French returned. The army of
Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
occupied the German territory to the west of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
, and the
Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...
awarded France this entire area. On 17 February 1800, the French '' Département du Mont-Tonnerre'' was founded here, with Mainz as its capital, the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
being the new eastern frontier of la Grande Nation. Austria and
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
could not but approve this new border with France in 1801. However, after several defeats in Europe during the next years, the weakened Napoléon and his troops had to leave Mainz in May 1814.


Rhenish Hesse

In 1816, the part of the former French Département which is known today as
Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
(german: link=no, Rheinhessen) was awarded to the
Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...
, Mainz being the capital of the new
Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...
province of Rhenish Hesse. From 1816 to 1866, to the
German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
Mainz was the most important fortress in the defence against France, and had a strong garrison of Austrian,
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n and
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n troops. On the afternoon of 18 November 1857, a huge explosion rocked Mainz when the city's powder magazine, the ''Pulverturm'', exploded. Approximately 150 people were killed and at least 500 injured; 57 buildings were destroyed and a similar number severely damaged in what was to be known as the ''Powder Tower Explosion'' or ''Powder Explosion''. During the
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
in 1866, Mainz was declared a neutral zone. After the founding of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
in 1871, Mainz no longer was as important a stronghold, because in the War of 1870/71 France had lost the territory of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany (which France had occupied bit by bit from 1630 to 1795), and this defined the new border between the two countries.


Industrial expansion

For centuries the inhabitants of the
fortress of Mainz The Fortress of Mainz was a fortressed garrison town between 1620 and 1918. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, under the term of the 1815 Peace of Paris, the control of Mainz passed to the German Confederation and became part of a chain of stra ...
had suffered from a severe shortage of space which led to disease and other inconveniences. In 1872 Mayor Carl Wallau and the council of Mainz persuaded the military government to sign a contract to expand the city. Beginning in 1874, the city of Mainz assimilated the ''Gartenfeld'', an idyllic area of meadows and fields along the banks of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
to the north of the rampart. The city expansion more than doubled the urban area which allowed Mainz to participate in the
industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
which had previously avoided the city for decades.
Eduard Kreyßig Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech Republic, Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most (Most District), Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetching, pho ...
was the man who made this happen. Having been the master-builder of the city of Mainz since 1865, Kreyßig had the vision for the new part of town, the ''Neustadt''. He also planned the first sewer system for the old part of town since Roman times and persuaded the city government to relocate the railway line from the Rhine side to the west end of the town. The main station was built from 1882 to 1884 according to the plans of Philipp Johann Berdellé. The Mainz master builder constructed a number of state-of-the-art public buildings, including the Mainz town hall – which was the largest of its kind in Germany at that time – as well a synagogue, the Rhine harbour and a number of public baths and school buildings. Kreyßig's last work was Christ Church (''Christuskirche''), the largest Protestant church in the city and the first building constructed solely for the use of a Protestant congregation. In 1905 the demolition of the entire circumvallation and the Rheingauwall was taken in hand, according to the imperial order of
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...
.


20th century

During the
German Revolution of 1918 German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
the
Mainz Workers' and Soldiers' Council The Mainz Workers' and Soldiers' Council was the effective government of Mainz from 9 November until the arrival of French troops on 9 December 1918 during the German Revolution of 1918. Reports of the Kiel Mutiny are published in the ''Mainzer Ze ...
was formed which ran the city from 9 November until the arrival of French troops under the terms of the
occupation of the Rhineland The Occupation of the Rhineland from 1 December 1918 until 30 June 1930 was a consequence of the collapse of the Imperial German Army in 1918, after which Germany's provisional government was obliged to agree to the terms of the 1918 armist ...
agreed in the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
. The French occupation was confirmed by the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
which went into effect 28 June 1919. The
Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...
(in which Mainz is located) was to be a demilitarized zone until 1935 and the French garrison, representing the ''
Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...
'', was to stay until reparations were paid. In 1923 Mainz participated in the Rhineland separatist movement that proclaimed a republic in the Rhineland. It collapsed in 1924. The French withdrew on 30 June 1930.
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
became chancellor of Germany in January 1933 and his political opponents, especially those of the Social Democratic Party, were either incarcerated or murdered. Some were able to move away from Mainz in time. One was the political organizer for the SPD,
Friedrich Kellner August Friedrich Kellner (1 February 1885 – 4 November 1970) was a German mid-level official and diarist who worked as a justice inspector in Laubach from 1933 to 1945. Kellner was an infantryman in a Hessian regiment during the First Worl ...
, who went to Laubach, where, as the chief justice inspector of the district court, he continued his opposition against the Nazis by recording their misdeeds in a 900-page
diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
. In March 1933, a detachment from the National Socialist Party in
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...
brought the party to Mainz. They hoisted the
swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
on all public buildings and began to denounce the Jewish population in the newspapers. In 1936, the Nazis remilitarized the Rhineland with great fanfare, the first move of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's meteoric expansion. The former Triple Entente took no action. During World War II the citadel at Mainz hosted the
Oflag XII-B Oflag XII-B was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp for officers ('' Offizierlager'') located in the citadel of Mainz, in western Germany. The fortress had also served as an ''Oflag'' in World War I. Camp history In June 1940 British, Belg ...
prisoner of war camp. The Bishop of Mainz, Albert Stohr, formed an organization to help Jews escape from Germany. During World War II, more than 30 air raids destroyed about 80 per cent of the city's centre, including most of the historic buildings. Mainz was captured on 22 March 1945 against uneven German resistance (staunch in some sectors and weak in other parts of the city) by the
90th Infantry Division 90th Division may refer to: ;Infantry * 90th Division (1st Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1949–1950 * 90th Division (2nd Formation)(People's Republic of China), 1950–1952 * 90th Light Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) * 90th Infantry Divi ...
under
William A. McNulty Colonel William Anderson McNulty (September 29, 1910 – January 25, 2005) was a decorated officer of the United States of America during World War II. Early years McNulty was born on September 29, 1910, in Roanoke, Virginia, as a son of Charle ...
, a formation of the XII Corps under Third Army commanded by General
George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
, Jr. Patton used the ancient strategic gateway through ''Germania Superior'' to cross the Rhine south of Mainz, drive down the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
towards
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
and end the possibility of a Bavarian redoubt crossing the Alps in Austria when the war ended. From 1945 to 1949, the city was part of the French zone of occupation. When the state of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
was founded on 30 August 1946 by the commander of the French army on the French occupation zone
Marie Pierre Kœnig Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...
, Mainz became the capital of the new state. In 1962, the diarist,
Friedrich Kellner August Friedrich Kellner (1 February 1885 – 4 November 1970) was a German mid-level official and diarist who worked as a justice inspector in Laubach from 1933 to 1945. Kellner was an infantryman in a Hessian regiment during the First Worl ...
, returned to spend his last years in Mainz. His life in Mainz, and the impact of his
writings Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
, is the subject of the Canadian documentary '' My Opposition: The Diaries of Friedrich Kellner''. Following the withdrawal of French forces from Mainz, the
United States Army Europe United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...
occupied the military bases in Mainz. Today USAREUR only occupies McCulley Barracks in Wackernheim and the
Mainz Sand Dunes The Mainz Sand Dunes (german: Großer Sand) are a small geological and botanical supra-region and important nature preserve in Mainz, Germany. Within this protected area rare plants and animals can be found. Some of the species represented here, suc ...
for the training areas. Mainz is home to the headquarters of the ''Bundeswehr''s '' Landeskommando'' Rhineland-Palatinate and other units.


Minority groups

The following list shows the largest minority groups in Mainz :


Cityscape


Architecture

The destruction caused by the bombing of Mainz during World War II led to the most intense phase of building in the history of the town. During the last war in Germany, more than 30 air raids destroyed about 80 per cent of the city's centre, including most of the historic buildings. The attack on the afternoon of 27 February 1945 remains the most destructive of all 33 bombings that Mainz has suffered in World War II in the collective memory of most of the population living then. The air raid caused most of the dead and made an already hard-hit city largely levelled. Nevertheless, the post-war reconstruction took place very slowly. While cities such as Frankfurt had been rebuilt fast by a central authority, only individual efforts were initially successful in rebuilding Mainz. The reason for this was that the French wanted Mainz to expand and become a model city. Mainz lay within the French-controlled sector of Germany and it was a French architect and town-planner,
Marcel Lods Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...
, who produced a Le Corbusier-style plan of an ideal architecture. But the very first interest of the inhabitants was the restoration of housing areas. Even after the failure of the model city plans it was the initiative of the French (founding of the Johannes Gutenberg
University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
, elevation of Mainz to the state capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, the early resumption of the
Mainz carnival The Mainz Carnival (''Mainzer Fastnacht'', ''"Määnzer Fassenacht" or "Meenzer Fassenacht"'') is a months-long citywide carnival celebration in Mainz, Germany that traditionally begins on 11 November but culminates in the days before Ash Wednesda ...
) driving the city in a positive development after the war. The City Plan of 1958 by
Ernst May Ernst May (27 July 1886 – 11 September 1970) was a German architect and city planner. May successfully applied urban design techniques to the city of Frankfurt am Main during the Weimar Republic period, and in 1930 less successfully expor ...
allowed a regulated reconstruction for the first time. In 1950, the seat of the government of Rhineland-Palatinate had been transferred to the new Mainz and in 1963 the seat of the new ZDF, notable architects were Adolf Bayer, Richard Jörg and Egon Hartmann. At the time of the two-thousand-years-anniversary in 1962 the city was largely reconstructed. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Oberstadt had been extended, Münchfeld and Lerchenberg added as suburbs, the Altstadttangente ( intersection of the old town), new neighbourhoods as Westring and Südring contributed to the extension. By 1970 there remained only a few ruins. The new town hall of Mainz had been designed by
Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple we ...
and finished by
Dissing+Weitling Dissing may refer to: *Diss (music), song primarily intended to disrespect people *Dissing+Weitling, architecture and design practice in Copenhagen, Denmark *Heino Dissing (1912–1990), Danish cyclist *Henry Dissing Henry Dissing (1931 – 10 De ...
. The town used Jacobsens activity for the Danish
Novo ''Novo'' is a 2002 French romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Limosin and starring Eduardo Noriega. The film tells the story of a man who suffers from amnesia. It screened at the Locarno Film Festival. Plot Graham suffers from severe am ...
erecting a new office and warehouse building to contact him. The
urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
of the old town changed the inner city. In the framework of the preparation of the cathedrals millennium,
pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
s were developed around the cathedral, in northern direction to the Neubrunnenplatz and in a southern direction across the Leichhof to the Augustinerstraße and Kirschgarten. The 1980s brought the renewal of the façades on the Markt and a new inner-city neighbourhood on the Kästrich. During the 1990s the Kisselberg between Gonsenheim and Bretzenheim, the "Fort Malakoff Center" at the site of the old police barracks, the renewal of the Main Station and the demolition of the first post-war shopping centre at the Markt followed by the erection of a new historicising building at the same place.


Main sights

* Romano-Germanic Central Museum (''Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum''). It is home to Roman, Medieval, and earlier artifacts. *
Museum of Ancient Seafaring The Museum of Ancient Seafaring (german: Museum für antike Schifffahrt) was installed in Mainz in 1994 in the former central covered market (before railway repair shop of the Hessian Ludwig Railway) near the South Station, nowadays Mainz Römische ...
(''Museum für Antike Schifffahrt''). It houses the remains of five Roman boats from the late 4th century, discovered in the 1980s. *Roman remains, including Jupiter's column, Drusus' mausoleum, the ruins of the theatre and the aqueduct. * Mainz Cathedral of St. Martin (''Mainzer Dom''), over 1,000 years old. *
St. John's Church St. John's Church, Church of St. John, or variants, thereof, (Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle or John the Evangelist) may refer to the following churches, former churches or other ...
, 7th-century church building *
Staatstheater Mainz The Staatstheater Mainz (Mainz State Theatre) is a theatre in Mainz, Germany, which is owned and operated by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated on the Gutenbergplatz, the complex comprises two theatres which are connected by an undergrou ...
*The
Iron Tower The Iron Tower (german: Eisenturm) is a mediaeval tower dating to the early 13th century, and modified in the 15th century, which with the Wood Tower and the Alexander Tower is one of three remaining towers from the city walls of Mainz, Germany. ...
(''Eisenturm'', tower at the former iron market), a 13th-century gate-tower. *The
Wood Tower The Wood Tower (german: Holzturm) is a Middle Ages, mediaeval tower in Mainz, Germany, with the Iron Tower and the Alexander Tower one of three remaining towers from the city walls. Its current Gothic architecture, Gothic appearance dates to the ea ...
(''Holzturm'', tower at the former wood market), a 15th-century gate tower. *The
Gutenberg Museum The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world, located opposite the cathedral in the old part of Mainz, Germany. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of printing from movable metal type in Western Euro ...
– exhibits an original Gutenberg Bible amongst many other printed books from the 15th century and later. *The Mainz Old Town – what's left of it, the quarter south of the cathedral survived World War II. * The
old arsenal Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
, the central arsenal of the fortress Mainz during the 17th and 18th century *The Electoral Palace (''Kurfürstliches Schloss''), residence of the
prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...
. *The Marktbrunnen, one of the largest Renaissance fountains in Germany. *''Domus Universitatis'' (1615), for centuries the tallest edifice in Mainz. *Christ Church ('' Christuskirche''), built 1898–1903, bombed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1948–1954. *The Church of St. Stephan, with post-war windows by
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
. *
Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...
. *The ruins of the church St. Christoph, a World War II memorial *''Schönborner Hof'' (1668). *
Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
churches of St. Augustin (the
Augustinerkirche, Mainz The church of St. Augustin known in German as Augustinerkirche, was the minster of the Augustine friars in the city centre of Mainz. Today it is the seminary church of the Catholic theological seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz. ...
) and
St. Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...
(the Peterskirche, Mainz). *Churches of St. Ignatius (1763) and St. Quintin. *Erthaler Hof (1743) *The Baroque
Bassenheimer Hof The Bassenheimer Hof (Bassenheimer Palace) is an historic building in Mainz, western Germany. At present (2009) the large structure is the seat of the Ministry of the Interior and Sports of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History The ...
(1750) *The
Botanischer Garten der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz The Botanischer Garten der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (10 hectares), also known as the Botanischer Garten Mainz, is an arboretum and botanical garden maintained by the University of Mainz. It is located on the university campus at Fran ...
, a
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
maintained by the university *
Landesmuseum Mainz The Landesmuseum Mainz, or Mainz State Museum, is a museum of art and history in Mainz, Germany. In March 2010 it reopened in full after an extensive renovation. The museum has its roots in a painting collection donated by Napoleon and Chapta ...
, state museum with archaeology and art. *Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (
ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
) – one of the largest public German TV-Broadcaster. * New synagogue in Mainz * Old Jewish Cemetery Mainz (''Judensand'') – ShUM city of Mainz, UNESCO
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
*Kunsthalle Mainz – museum for contemporary art *
Humbrechthof The Humbrechthof, also known as Hof zum Humbrecht, was the building in which Johannes Gutenberg developed his technique of printing with movable metal type and set up his first printing press. It was located in the old town of Mainz. Today, the hou ...
, later called Schöfferhof, the building in which Johannes Gutenberg developed his technique of printing


Administration

The city of Mainz is divided into 15 local districts according to the main statute of the city of Mainz. Each local district has a district administration of 13 members and a directly elected mayor, who is the chairman of the district administration. This local council decides on important issues affecting the local area, however, the final decision on new policies is made by Mainz's municipal council. In accordance with section 29 paragraph 2 Local Government Act of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
, which refers to municipalities of more than 150,000 inhabitants, the city council has 60 members. Districts of the town are: Until 1945, the districts of Bischofsheim (now an independent town),
Ginsheim-Gustavsburg The double city of Ginsheim-Gustavsburg in the northwest of the Groß-Gerau district in the German state of Hesse, has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is part of what is called the Rhine-Main region in Germany which has the city of Frankfurt am Main a ...
(which together are an independent town) belonged to Mainz. The former districts
Amöneburg Amöneburg () is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. It lies on a mountain and is built around the castle of the same name, ''Burg Amöneburg''. Geography Location Amöneburg lies on a basalt cone that can be seen fr ...
, Kastel, and
Kostheim Mainz-Kostheim is a district administered by the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. Its population is 14,381 (). Mainz-Kostheim was formerly a district of the city of Mainz, until the public administration by the city of Wiesbaden was decided on 10 Aug ...
– (in short, ''AKK'') are now administrated by the city of
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
(on the north bank of the river). The AKK was separated from Mainz when the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
was designated the boundary between the French occupation zone (the later state of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
) and the U.S. occupation zone (
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
) in 1945.


Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Mainz is derived from the coat of arms of the
Archbishops of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
and features two six-spoked silver wheels connected by a silver cross on a red background.


Politics


Mayor

The current mayor of Mainz is Michael Ebling of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(SPD) since 2012. The most recent mayoral election was held on 27 October 2019, with a runoff held on 10 November, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Michael Ebling , align=left,
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
, 30,278 , 41.0 , 35,752 , 55.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Nino Haase , align=left,
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
( CDU, ÖDP, FW) , 23,968 , 32.4 , 29,029 , 44.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Tabea Rößner Tabea Rößner (born 7 December 1966) is a German journalist and politician of Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since 2009. In 2019, she unsuccessfully ran as the Green Party's candidate for Mayor of Main ...
, align=left,
Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
, 16,621 , 22.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Malcherek , align=left, The Left , 2,063 , 2.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Ehrhardt , align=left,
Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazin ...
, 999 , 1.4 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 73,929 ! 99.6 ! 64,781 ! 99.4 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 289 ! 0.4 ! 372 ! 0.6 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 74,218 ! 100.0 ! 65,153 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 161,967 ! 45.8 ! 162,030 ! 40.2 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Mainz
1st round


City council

The Mainz city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
(Grüne) , 1,582,459 , 27.7 , 7.5 , 17 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 1,339,561 , 23.5 , 6.9 , 14 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(SPD) , 1,151,572 , 20.2 , 7.2 , 12 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 340,501 , 6.0 , 0.9 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 335,459 , 5.9 , 1.3 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
(AfD) , 302,604 , 5.3 , 2.3 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Ecological Democratic Party The Ecological Democratic Party (german: Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei, ÖDP) is a conservative and ecologist minor party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982. The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in ...
(ÖDP) , 238,727 , 4.2 , 0.2 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazin ...
, 127,581 , 2.2 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Free Voters Free Voters (german: Freie Wähler, FW or FWG) in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it involves a locally organized group of voters ...
(FW) , 108,701 , 1.9 , 0.9 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...
(Piraten) , 78,595 , 1.4 , 0.4 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Volt Germany Volt Germany (, mostly known by the abbreviated name Volt) is a social-liberal pro-European, eurofederalist political party in Germany. It is the German branch of Volt Europa, a political movement that operates on a European level. Italian Andr ...
(Volt) , 67,376 , 1.2 , New , 1 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,
Alliance for Innovation and Justice The Alliance for Innovation and Justice (german: Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit; BIG) is a minor party in Germany aimed primarily at immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of wh ...
(BIG) , 31,419 , 0.6 , 0.1 , 0 , ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Total votes ! 5,704,555 ! 100.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ballots ! 100,522 ! 100.0 ! ! 60 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 162,321 ! 61.9 ! 11.0 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Mainz


Culture

Mainz is home to a
Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
, the ''Mainzer Fassenacht'' or ''Fastnacht'', which has developed since the early 19th century. Carnival in Mainz has its roots in the criticism of social and political injustices under the shelter of cap and bells. Today, the uniforms of many traditional Carnival clubs still imitate and caricature the uniforms of the French and Prussian troops of the past. The height of the carnival season is on
Rosenmontag ( en, Rose Monday) is the highlight of the German (carnival), and takes place on the Shrove Monday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Mardi Gras, though celebrated on Fat Tuesday, is a similar event. is celebrated in German-speaking ...
("rose Monday"), when there is a large parade in Mainz, with more than 500,000 people celebrating in the streets. The first-ever
Katholikentag ''Katholikentag'' () is a festival-like gathering in German-speaking countries organized by laity of the Catholic Church. ''Katholikentag'' festivals occur approximately every 2–4 years in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. ''Katholikentag'' ...
, a festival-like gathering of German Catholics, was held in Mainz in 1848.
Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...
, credited with the invention of a modern
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
with movable type, was born here and died here. Since 1968 the Mainzer Johannisnacht commemorates the person Johannes Gutenberg in his native city. The
Mainz University The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
, which was refounded in 1946, is named after
Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...
; the earlier University of Mainz that dated back to 1477 had been closed down by Napoleon's troops in 1798. Mainz was one of three important centres of Jewish theology and learning in Central Europe during the Middle Ages. Known collectively as ''Shum'', the cities of
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
,
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...
and Mainz played a key role in the preservation and propagation of Talmudic scholarship. The city is the seat of Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (literally, "Second German Television",
ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
), one of two federal nationwide TV broadcasters. There are also a couple of radio stations based in Mainz. The
Mainzer Stadtschreiber The Mainzer Stadtschreiber (City clerk in Mainz) is an annual German literature award. It is awarded by ZDF, 3sat and the city of Mainz and was founded in 1984. The award is endowed with €12,500. Additionally the laureate receives the right to l ...
(City clerk in Mainz) is an annual German literature award. Other cultural aspects of the city include: *As city in the
Greater Region SaarLorLux or Saar-Lor-Lux (also ''SarLorLux'' in French), a portmanteau of Saarland, Lorraine and Luxembourg, is a euroregion of five regional authorities located in four European states. The term has also been applied to cooperations of sev ...
, Mainz participated in the program of the year of European Capital of Culture 2007. *The
Walk of Fame of Cabaret The Walk of Fame of Cabaret is a sidewalk between Proviant-Magazin and Schönborner Hof in Mainz, Germany, which is embedded with more than 40 seven-pointed irregularly shaped stars featuring the names of cabaret celebrities selected by a gro ...
may be found nearby the Schillerplatz. *The
music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fou ...
is located in Mainz. *One of the oldest brass instrument manufacturers in the world, Gebr. Alexander is located in Mainz. * Fans of Gospel music enjoy the yearly performances of
Colours of Gospel Colours of Gospel is a German gospel choir that performs throughout Germany and other European countries. Established in Mainz in 1998, the choir is currently conducted by Collins Nyandeje. The choir been a non-profit, non-denominational ass ...
.


Politics

Mainz (electoral district)


Education

*
University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
*
University of Applied Sciences Mainz The Mainz University of Applied Sciences (German language, German: ''Hochschule Mainz''), is a 1971-founded university located in Mainz, Germany. The University of Applied Sciences Mainz consists of three faculties: School of Technology, School ...
*
Catholic University of Applied Sciences Mainz The Catholic University of Applied Sciences Mainz (German ''Katholische Hochschule Mainz'') is a university located in Mainz, Germany. It was founded in 1972 and is operating on behalf of the Roman Catholic Dioceses Cologne, Limburg, Mainz, Speye ...


Sports

The local football club
1. FSV Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...
has a long history in the German football leagues. Since 2004 it has competed in the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
(First German soccer league) except a break in second level in 2007–08 season. Mainz is closely associated with renowned coach
Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world. Klopp spent most of his playing c ...
, who spent the vast majority of his playing career at the club and was also the manager for seven years, leading the club to Bundesliga football for the first time. After leaving Mainz Klopp went on to win two Bundesliga titles and reaching a Champions League final with
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...
. In the summer of 2011, the club opened its new stadium called
Coface Arena Mewa Arena (; stylised as MEWA ARENA; also known as the 1. FSV Mainz 05 Arena due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose stadium in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, that opened in July 2011. It is used for football matches, and ...
, which was later renamed Opel Arena. Further relevant football clubs are
TSV Schott Mainz The TSV Schott Mainz is a Football in Germany, German Association football, association football club from the town of Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Apart from football the club also offers more than 30 other sports like ice hockey, field hockey a ...
, SV Gonsenheim, Fontana Finthen, FC Fortuna Mombach and FVgg Mombach 03. The local wrestling club ASV Mainz 1888 is currently in the top division of team wrestling in Germany, the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
. In 1973, 1977 and 2012 the ASV Mainz 1888 won the German championship. In 2007 the
Mainz Athletics The Baseball and Softball Club Mainz Athletics 1988 e.V., commonly referred to as Mainz Athletics, is a German baseball and softball club located in the city of Mainz in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Athletics, along with Regensburg Legionäre, is o ...
won the German Men's Championship in baseball. As a result of the 2008 invasion of Georgia by Russian troops, Mainz acted as a neutral venue for the Georgian Vs Republic of Ireland football game. The biggest basketball club in the city is the ASC Theresianum Mainz. Its men's team is playing in the Regionalliga and its women's team is playing in the 2.DBBL.


USC Mainz

Universitäts-Sportclub Mainz (University Sports Club Mainz) is a German sports club based in Mainz (Germany). It was founded on 9 September 1959 by Berno Wischmann primarily for students of the University of Mainz. It is considered one of the most powerful Athletics Sports clubs in Germany. 50 athletes of USC have distinguished themselves in a half-century in club history at Olympic Games, World and European Championships. In particular in the decathlon dominated USC athletes for decades: Already at the European Championships in Budapest in 1966 Mainz won three (Werner von Moltke, Jörg Mattheis and Horst Beyer) all decathlon medals. In the all-time list of the USC, there are nine athletes who have achieved more than 8,000 points – at the head of Siegfried Wentz (8762 points in 1983) and Guido Kratschmer (1980 world record with 8667 points). The most successful athlete of the association is more fighter, sprinter and long jumper Ingrid Becker (Olympic champion in 1968 in the pentathlon and Olympic champion in 1972 in the 4 × 100 Metres Relay and European champion in 1971 in the long jump). The most famous athletes of the present are the sprinter Marion Wagner (world champion in 2001 in the 4 × 100 Metres Relay) and the pole vaulters Carolin Hingst (Eighth of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing) and Anna Battke. Three world titles adorn the balance of USC Mainz. For the discus thrower, Lars Riedel attended (1991 and 1993) and the already mentioned sprinter Marion Wagner (2001). Added to 5 titles at the European Championships, a total of 65 international medals and 260 victories at the German Athletics Championships. The players of USC's basketball section played from the season 1968/69 to the season 1974/75 in the National Basketball League (BBL) of the German Basketball Federation (DBB). As a finalist to winning the DBB Cup in 1971 USC Mainz played in the
1971–72 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup The 1971–72 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup was the sixth edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, contested between national domestic cup champions, running from 4 November 1971, to 21 March 1972. ...
against the Italian Cup winners of
Fides Napoli Partenope Napoli Basket is an Italian amateur basketball team from Naples, Campania. History Partenope Napoli Basket first took part in the top-tier level Italian first division, the LBA, from 1963 to 1965. After stabilizing itself in the top lev ...
.


Mainz Athletics

The Baseball and Softball Club Mainz Athletics is a German baseball and softball club located in the city of Mainz in
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
. The Athletics is one of the largest clubs in the Baseball-Bundesliga Süd in terms of membership, claiming to have hundreds of active players. The club has played in the Baseball-Bundesliga for more than two decades and has won the German Championship in 2007 and 2016.


Economy


Wine centre

Mainz has been a wine-growing region since Roman times and is one of the centres of the
German wine German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Ancient Rome, Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of German wine is produced in the state of Rhine ...
industry. Since 2008, the city is a member of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network (GWC), an association of well-known wineculture-cities of the world. Many wine traders work in the city. The
sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...
producer Kupferberg produced in Mainz-Hechtsheim and
Henkell Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG, today Henkell Freixenet, is a German producer of Sekt (German quality sparkling wine), wine and spirits based in Wiesbaden. From 1958 until October 2021, it belonged to Dr. August Oetker KG. Since November 2021, it h ...
– now located on the other side of the river Rhine – were once founded in Mainz. The famous
Blue Nun Blue Nun is a German wine brand launched by the company H. Sichel Söhne (Mainz) in 1923 with the 1921 vintage, and which between the 1950s and 1980s was a very popular international brand. For most of its existence, Blue Nun was a single Germ ...
, one of the first branded wines, was marketed by the Sichel family. The ''Haus des Deutschen Weines'' (English: House of German Wine), is located in the city. The Mainzer Weinmarkt (wine market) is one of the great wine fairs in Germany.


Other industries

The
Schott AG Schott AG is a German multinational glass company specializing in the manufacture of glass and glass-ceramics. Headquartered in Mainz, Germany, it is owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation. The company's founder and namesake, Otto Schott, is credi ...
, one of the world's largest glass manufactures, as well as the Werner & Mertz, a large chemical factory, are based in Mainz. Other companies such as IBM, QUINN Plastics, or
Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries, and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder ...
have their German administration in Mainz as well.
BioNTech BioNTech SE ( ; or short for Biopharmaceutical New Technologies) is a German biotechnology company based in Mainz that develops and manufactures active immunotherapies for patient-specific approaches to the treatment of diseases. It develops ...
, a
biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
company developing
immunotherapies Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...
including a vaccine against
coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
(COVID-19) was founded in 2008 in Mainz by scientists
Uğur Şahin Uğur Şahin (; born 19 September 1965) is a German oncologist and immunologist. He is the CEO of BioNTech, which developed one of the major vaccines against COVID-19. His main fields of research are cancer research and immunology. Şahin's ...
, and
Özlem Türeci Özlem Türeci (; born 6 March 1967) is a German physician, scientist and entrepreneur. In 2008, she co-founded the biotechnology company BioNTech, which in 2020 developed the first messenger RNA-based vaccine approved for use against Coronavir ...
, with the Austrian oncologist Christoph Huber. Johann-Joseph Krug, founder of France's famous Krug champagne house in 1843, was born in Mainz in 1800.


Transport

Mainz is a major transport hub in southern Germany. It is an important component in European distribution, as it has the fifth largest inter-modal port in Germany. The
Port of Mainz The Port of Mainz (or Mainzer Hafen in German) is the port of Mainz, Germany. Lying on the western bank of the Rhine river, it has a long history reaching back through the Middle Ages to Roman times. The modern port facilities, existing for appr ...
, now handling mainly containers, is a sizable industrial area to the north of the city, along the banks of the Rhine. In order to open up space along the city's riverfront for residential development, it was shifted further northwards in 2010.


Rail

Mainz Central Station Mainz Hauptbahnhof ("Mainz main station", formerly known as ''Centralbahnhof Mainz''von Meyer, Arthur (1891). ''Geschichte und Geographie der deutschen Eisenbahnen von ihrer Entstehung bis auf die Gegenwart'', W. Baensch, p. 1131) is a railway st ...
or ''Mainz Hauptbahnhof'', is frequented by 80,000 travelers and visitors each day and is therefore one of the busiest 21 stations in Germany. It is a stop for the
S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
line S8 of the
Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) is a transport association that covers the public transport network of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area in Germany. Its head office is located in Hofheim im Taunus. Organisation and area covered The RMV ...
. Additionally, the
Mainbahn The Main Railway (German: ''Mainbahn'', pronounced 'mine barn') is a 37.5 km-long double-track electrified railway line, which runs on the south side of the river Main from Mainz to Frankfurt central station. History Immediately after the openi ...
line to
Frankfurt Hbf Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, also called Frankfurt Central Station and Frankfurt Main Station, is the busiest railway station in the German state of Hesse. Because of its location near the middle of Germany and usage as a transport hub for lo ...
starts at the station. It is served by 440 daily local and regional trains ( StadtExpress, RE and RB) and 78 long-distance trains ( IC, EC and
ICE Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
). Intercity-Express lines connect Mainz with Frankfurt (Main),
Karlsruhe Hbf Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Karlsruhe. The station is classified as a Category 1 station, as it is a major hub where several railways connect. History Old station When the Baden Mainline was built betwee ...
,
Worms Hauptbahnhof Worms Hauptbahnhof is, along with ''Worms Pfeddersheim'' station, one of two operational passenger stations in the Rhenish Hesse city of Worms, Germany. The station with its pedestrian underpass is also an essential link between the eastern and th ...
and
Koblenz Hauptbahnhof Koblenz Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the city of Koblenz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is the focal point of rail transport in the Rhine-Moselle-Lahn area. It is a through station in southern Koblenz built below Fort Gr ...
. It is a terminus of the
West Rhine Railway The West Rhine railway (German: ''Linke Rheinstrecke'', literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It i ...
and the
Mainz–Ludwigshafen railway The Mainz–Worms–Ludwigshafen Railway connects Mainz via Worms to Ludwigshafen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. From there trains cross the Rhine via Mannheim or run south towards Speyer. It was opened in 1853 and is one of the old ...
, as well as the
Alzey–Mainz Railway The Alzey–Mainz railway was opened on 18 December 1871 by the Hessian Ludwig Railway (german: Hessische Ludwigsbahn), linking the two cities of Alzey and Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate to each other. Route The non-elect ...
erected by the Hessische Ludwigsbahn in 1871. Access to the
East Rhine Railway The East Rhine Railway (German: ''Rechte Rheinstrecke'', literally 'right (of the) Rhine railway') is a major, double-track, electrified railway line, running along the right bank of the Rhine from Cologne to Wiesbaden. The -long line forms two De ...
is provided by the Kaiserbrücke, a railway bridge across the Rhine at the north end of Mainz.


Operational usage


Public transportation

The station is an interchange point for the Mainz tramway network, and an important bus junction for the city and region (
RNN RNN or rnn may refer to: * Random neural network, a mathematical representation of an interconnected network of neurons or cells which exchange spiking signals * Recurrent neural network, a class of artificial neural networks where connections betw ...
,
ORN Orn or ORN may refer to: *Orn (name), a given name and surname * ''Orn'', the second book in Piers Anthony's trilogy Of Man and Manta * Offshoring Research Network, an international network researching the offshoring of business processes and ser ...
and MVG).


Cycling

Mainz offers a wide array of bicycle transportation facilities and events, including several miles of on-street bike lanes. The Rheinradweg (Rhine Cycle Route) is an international cycle route, running from the source to the mouth of the Rhine, traversing four countries at a distance of . Another cycling tour runs towards Bingen and further to the
Middle Rhine Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the river Rhine flows as the Middle Rhine (german: Mittelrhein) through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at ...
, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2002).


Air transportation

Mainz is served by
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
, the busiest airport by passenger traffic in Germany by far, the third busiest in Europe and the ninth busiest worldwide in 2009. Located about east of Mainz, it is connected to the city by an S-Bahn line. The small
Mainz Finthen Airport Mainz-Finthen Airport ''(German: Flugplatz Mainz-Finthen)'' is an airport in Germany, located about southwest of Mainz and approximately southwest of Berlin. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no commercial airline servic ...
, located just southwest of Mainz, is used by
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
only. Another airport, Frankfurt-Hahn Airport located about west of Mainz, is served by a few
low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
s.


Notable people

*
List of people related to Mainz This is a list of notable people who were born in or associated with Mainz. Sons and daughters of the town (''chronological list'') * around 780, Rabanus Maurus, † 856, a Benedictine monk, and archbishop of Mainz. He was the author of the enc ...
*
Archbishops of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
*
List of mayors of Mainz left, 40px Franz Konrad Macké (1756–1844, Maire and Mayor of Mainz (Lithographie by Gauff) This is a list of mayors of Mainz, including the Lord Mayors (''Oberbürgermeister von Mainz'') since 1796. *1796–1800: Fredrick Pongrass *180 ...


Twin towns – sister cities

Mainz is twinned with: *
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
, United Kingdom (1956) *
Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...
, France (1957) *
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
, Croatia (1967) *
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Spain (1978) *
Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, Israel (1981) *
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, Germany (1988) *
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
, United States (1994) * Longchamp, France (1966, with
Mainz-Laubenheim Mainz-Laubenheim is a southern quarter of Mainz and is located south of the A60 autobahn and west of the B9 highway on the banks of the Rhine. History The first documented mention of Mainz-Laubenheim was in 773 AD, under the name ''Nubenheim' ...
) *
Rodeneck Rodeneck (; it, Rodengo ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography Rodeneck borders the following municipalities: Kiens, Lüsen, Mühlbach, Natz-Schabs, St. Lorenzen and Vintl. In Rodeneck there are 7 municipal ...
, Italy (1977, with Mainz-Finthen) Mainz has friendly relations with: *
Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...
, Rwanda (1982) *
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
, Azerbaijan (1984)


Alternative names

Mainz has a number of different names in other languages and dialects. In
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
it is known as ' or ' and, in the local
West Middle German West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch) belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. Its dialects are Franconian and comprise the parts of the Rhinelandic continuum located south of the Benrath line isogloss, including ...
dialect, it is ''Määnz'' or ''Meenz''. It is known as ' in French, ' in Italian, ' in Spanish, ' in Portuguese, ' in Polish, ''Magentza'' () in Yiddish, and ' in Czech and Slovakian. Before the 20th century, Mainz was commonly known in English as ''Mentz'' or by its French name of ''Mayence''. It is the namesake of two American cities named Mentz.


See also

*
Johann Fust Johann Fust or Faust (c. 1400 – October 30, 1466) was an early German printer. Family background Fust was born to burgher family of Mainz, traceable back to the early thirteenth century. Members of the family held many civil and religiou ...
*
Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...
*
Peter Schöffer Peter Schöffer or Petrus Schoeffer (c. 1425 – c. 1503) was an early German printer, who studied in Paris and worked as a manuscript copyist in 1451 before apprenticing with Johannes Gutenberg and joining Johann Fust, a goldsmith, lawyer, and m ...
, apprentice of Gutenberg and early printer


Notes and references


Sources

*Hope, Valerie. ''Constructing Identity: The Roman Funerary Monuments of Aquelia, Mainz and Nîmes''; British Archaeological Reports (16 July 2001) *Imhof, Michael and Simone Kestin: ''Mainz City and Cathedral Guide.'' Petersberg:
Michael Imhof Verlag Michael Imhof Verlag is a German publishing company in Petersberg, Hesse. They are known especially for publishing books with a local interest, on art, on history, politics, religion, nature, and culture Culture () is an umbrella term which ...
, 2004. * ''Mainz'' ("Vierteljahreshefte für Kultur, Politik, Wirtschaft, Geschichte"), since 1981 *Saddington, Denis. ''The stationing of auxiliary regiments in Germania Superior in the Julio-Claudian period'' *Stanton, Shelby, ''World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946'' (Revised Edition, 2006), Stackpole Books


External links


The official web site of the city of Mainz
* * *
Explore the ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture
*Duchhardt, Heinz
„Römer" in Mainz. Ein Doppelporträt aus der Frühgeschichte der „neuen" Mainzer Universität
{{Authority control 10s BC establishments in the Roman Empire Cities in Rhineland-Palatinate Divided cities German state capitals Free imperial cities Port cities and towns in Germany Roman towns and cities in Germany Populated places on the Rhine Populated places established in the 1st century BC Roman legionary fortresses in Germany Roman fortifications in Germania Superior Rhenish Hesse States and territories established in 1244 States and territories disestablished in 1462