Explorations of a German city layered in history, with surprisingly gorgeous churches.
Mainz lies on the Rhine River in mid-western Germany. The city started its life as an Ancient Roman legionnaire base, Mogontiacum, in the 1st century CE. Mogontiacum later became the capital of the Roman province of Germania Superior. The Franks moved in in the 5th century and it became an important city of the Holy Roman Empire in the 8th. An archbishop ruled the city, and much of the surrounding area, until hostilities broke out in 1792. The Old Town was severely damaged during WWII. However, thankfully, many buildings were rebuilt.
In short, Mainz has a very long and complicated history. I decided to visit Mainz after watching a documentary on Romanesque churches. It featured two churches in Mainz, along with the cathedral in Speyer. Due to construction on the S-Bahn from Frankfurt, I got off at the station across the Rhine from Mainz. After a long walk over the Rhine, I made my way into the Old Town of Mainz.
The Rhine is a very wide river.
Wandering Jana Karmeliterkirche, a monastery church. Not sure if it still is a monastery.
Wandering Jana The local sandstone was used a lot in the construction in Mainz.
Wandering Jana St. Christoph was built between 1240-1330. The famed printer Johannes Gutenberg was baptized here around 1400. It was damaged during WWII and now serves as a memorial.
Wandering Jana A mostly painted building to make it look more sandstoney. I love it.
Wandering Jana A shopping gallery and the cathedral behind. The cathedral is surrounded by other buildings on most of its sides.
Exactly opposite of the last photo is Johanniskirche, Mainz’s old cathedral and its oldest church. Construction started on the church back in the 7th century, making it one of the few Carolingian churches still standing (see Aachen Cathedral). The interior of the church has been a construction site for a while. In order to replace the underfloor heating system, archaeological excavations had to take place. It started in 2013 and it’s still ongoing because they keep finding cool stuff. They have found parts of a Roman buildings, including a roof from one that collapsed and sarcophagi from the early-medieval period.
Johanniskirch, perpetually a construction site forever.
Wandering Jana You can see one of the open sarcophagi in the bottom of the photo. The church is only open a short bit each week, but luckily, they have viewing windows from the outside.
The Old Town is kind of cute.
Wandering Jana Very cute, in fact.
I like this one.
Wandering Jana I’m a sucker for half-timbered buildings, even if they were rebuilt after WWII.
Wandering Jana Back at the Cathedral, a restored but gorgeous Romanesque doorway.
Wandering Jana Like the Cathedral of Trier, there is an apse at the main entrance.
Wandering Jana Turn around for the rest of the cathedral. It’s very similar to the one in Speyer.
Wandering Jana I got distracted and ended up in the cloister.
Wandering Jana It’s a two story cloister!
The church originally just had the rounded windows on the top layer. Gothic windows along the bottom were later added.
Wandering Jana Those tall, round towers seem to be popular in the area.
Wandering Jana Back in the cathedral. The paintings are modern.
Wandering Jana In one of the Gothic chapels with those giant, Gothic windows.
Wandering Jana I love this door.
Wandering Jana Gorgeous.
Wandering Jana Marktplatz am Dom. I was not kidding when I said the cathedral is mostly surrounded by other buildings. This used to be common in the medieval period, but those buildings typically don’t remain.
Wandering Jana Except for this side.
Wandering Jana A gorgeous building near the cathedral.
Wandering Jana Back to the Marktplatz, opposite the cathedral.
Wandering Jana A very stunning cathedral.
Wandering Jana Augustinerkirche, an absolutely gorgeous Rococo church from the 18th century.
Wandering Jana Love this.
Wandering Jana Holzturm, one of the towers from the old city walls.
Wandering Jana St. Ignaz, a gorgeous Baroque church.
Wandering Jana Gorgeous, isn’t it?
Wandering Jana I next headed up to the 17th century citadel.
Wandering Jana The citadel shared the hill with the Ancient Roman theater.
Wandering Jana Drususstein, an Ancient Roman cenotaph that was erected in 9 BCE by soldiers in the memory of the general Druses. It was originally clad in marble.
Wandering Jana Osteiner Hof on Schillerplatz.
Wandering Jana More pretty.
Wandering Jana Peterskirche, even more Rococo.
Wandering Jana The churches in this town are amazing.
Wandering Jana Just stunning.
Wandering Jana Kurfürstliches Schloss, a Renaissance palace belonging to the Archbishop of Mainz.
Wandering Jana Christuskirche, a protestant church from around 1900. It had to be restored after WWII and they made some choices in the interior. They weren’t good ones.
Mainz is one of the cities I visited on this trip that I wish I had more time in. I only ever made it into one small museum of Roman ruins, but there are quite a few in Mainz that looked interesting, like the Gutenberg Museum. There is another city nearby, Wiesbaden, that looked like it had quite a bit to see as well.
Check out my next update where I explore the German city of Cologne!
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Start at the beginning of this European adventure!
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