See Top Sights in Mainz, Germany

Cathedral, Chagall Church Windows, Roman Ships, and Gutenberg Museum

Nov 28, 2007

Top sights in Mainz worth seeing include the huge Dom (cathedral), Chagall windows, the Roman Ships and Gutenberg Museums, and a few historic buildings in the old town.

Mainz, at the confluence of the Main and Rhine Rivers in Germany, is a popular excursion for travelers with a few hours’ stopover at Frankfurt International Airport (FRA). Many travelers find a half-day trip to Mainz more enjoyable than spending time in the larger and mostly modern Frankfurt.

Mainzer Dom (Mainz Cathedral)

The most famous sight in Mainz is its huge Dom St Martin and St Stephan (Cathedral). Construction started in the late 10th century but through the centuries, the cathedral burned down seven times.

The present cathedral is therefore not surprisingly a hotchpotch of styles. The thick walls and dark interior show the church’s Romanesque origins – other fine Romanesque cathedrals from the same period are in Worms and Speyer, upriver along the Rhine. The only art works from the original cathedral are the two bronze doors – still in daily use – while their lion doorknobs are two centuries younger.

For centuries, the Archbishopric of Mainz was one of the most powerful positions in Germany with both temporal and spiritual powers. This wealth is reflected in the cathedral’s interior with many Baroque art works – the tombs of the bishops are often lavish.

Markt & the Gutenberg Museum

On Marktplatz – the market square and center of all festivals including the Christmas market – several historic façades face the Dom. These are copies of the originals lost during the Second World War. Some streets south of the cathedral escaped war damage and have authentic old buildings.

Mainz is famous as the city where Johannes Gensfleisch zuGutenberg first used his movable-type printing press. Unfortunately, very little is known about Gutenberg and the Gutenberg Museum here is fairly disappointing. It has a few printing presses and many valuable books but the majority of the exhibition is very academic and frankly a bit boring.

Chagall Windows

It is absolutely worth the hike up the hill from the old town to the St Stephanskirche (St Stephan’s Church). This unremarkable Gothic church has some of the most remarkable windows in the world. Marc Chagall used 18 hues of blue to create his largest work and an atmosphere suitable for meditation. The windows for the apse and transept are by Chagall, while his assistant Charles Marq used 10 tones of blue to complete the rest after Chagall’s death.

The nave has a flat wooden ceiling rather than vaulting as is more normal for a Gothic church. Lack of funds after the Second World War – it suffered direct hits during three air raids – forced this cost saving measure but with the glorious windows, very few of the over 200,000 annual visitors ever look up or notice.

Mainz and the Roman Empire

Mainz was a long an important city in the Roman Empire. However, on New Year’s Eve 406, the Rhine famously froze over – it was a much smaller river back then – and the Germanic hordes swarmed over the river. Mainz was abandoned by the Romans but regained importance under the Franks a few centuries later.

Germany has several museums on its Roman Empire past – the best ones are in Cologne and Trier – but the Museum für Antike Schifffahrt (Ancient Ships) is unique. In 1981, during excavations for expansions to the Hilton Hotel on the banks of the Rhine in Mainz, five Roman boats were discovered in the mud. These were preserved, two full-scale models built, and similar boats from other areas were added to this interesting collection.

Transportation to Mainz

Mainz has good transportation links. S-Bahn S8 commuter train connects Mainz with Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) in 26 minutes and continues to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in about 10 minutes more. In the opposite direction, Wiesbaden is only 12 minutes on the S8 train.

Mainz is an hour by bus from Frankfurt Hahn Airport (HHN), popular with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair.

In summer, boats depart from Mainz for cruises down the Rhine although the scenery for the first hour or so is not too exciting. Travelers with limited time should rather take the train to Bingen or Rüdesheim and start river cruises from there.

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