What to See in Mainz - Top Sights and Attractions

10th-century sandstone religious edifice. Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of the Bishop of Mainz.

Mainz Cathedral is predominantly Romanesque in style, but later exterior additions over many centuries have resulted in the appearance of various architectural influences seen today. It comprises three aisles and stands under the patronage of Saint Martin of Tours. The eastern quire is dedicated to Saint Stephen.

The interior of the cathedral houses tombs and funerary monuments of former powerful Electoral-prince-archbishops, or Kurfürst-Erzbischöfe, of the diocese and contains religious works of art spanning a millennium. The cathedral also has a central courtyard and statues of Saint Boniface and The Madonna on its grounds.

During the time of Mainz Archbishop Willigis (975-1011), the city of Mainz flourished economically, and Willigis became one of the most influential politicians of that time, ascending to regent of the empire between 991 and 994. In 975-976 shortly after his installation he ordered the construction of a new cathedral in the pre-Romanesque Ottonian architecture style. This new and impressive building was part of his vision of Mainz as the "second Rome".

This new cathedral was to take over the functions of two churches: the old cathedral and St. Alban's, which was the largest church in the area, belonging to a Benedictine abbey and serving as the burial ground for the bishops and other nobles, including Fastrada, a spouse of Charlemagne. Most of the synods and other important meetings were held at St. Alban's Abbey.

The new cathedral consisted of a double chancel with two transepts. The main hall was built in the typical triple-nave "cross" pattern. As was usual at that time no vault was included because of structural difficulties relating to the size of the building. Six towers rose from the church. A cloister was enclosed in the structure and a small freestanding church, St. Mary's Church, connected by a colonnade. This small church developed later into the collegiate church of St. Maria ad Gradus.

Sandstone was used as the primary building material for the cathedral. The inside was plastered white under the Archbishop Bardo, probably in the middle of the 10th century. During renovations ordered by Henry IV in the late 11th century, much of the outside was also plastered, but the cornices were left exposed in their original red and yellow. It is believed that the coloring of the cathedral was changed more times, but no further documentation of the coloring is available until record of the Baroque works.

The cathedral suffered extensive damage from a fire on the day of its inauguration in 1009. Archbishop Bardo (Bardo of Oppershofen) presided over the completion of the cathedral begun under Willigis. By 1037 the main portions of the body of Mainz Cathedral were complete. Willigis was buried in the second church he had initiated, St. Stephan's, in 1011.^[1]

Mansion. The Osteiner Hof is one of several Baroque-era palatial mansions along Schillerplatz square in the German city of Mainz. The mansion, along the southern edge of the square, was built in 1747-1752 by architect-soldier Johann Valentin Thomann for Franz Wolfgang Damian von Ostein, brother of Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, who was prince-bishop of Mainz at that time.

Characteristic features for this building are the three round protrusions (risalits) at the front entrance and on the two corners. The building is lavishly decorated; for instance, the windows are framed by rococo-style cartouches symbolising the elements of air, earth and water. The classical gods Diana and Mars are shown on the cartouches framing the balcony doors.

The von Osteins, a dynasty of counts, were not able to make use of the mansion for very long. After the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by French Revolutionary armies, the mansion was appropriated by the state, and in 1798 it became the seat of a newly created département of France, Mont-Tonnerre.

The building continued to be used as a seat of government after the Napoleonic era, even gaining the nickname Gouvernement during the years 1854-1859, while emperor-to-be Wilhelm I was serving as military governor of Mainz. During the early days of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), the Osteiner Hof served as military headquarters of a Prussian field marshal, Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia.

In 1914, then-military governor General Hugo von Kathen announced the start of World War I to the Mainz populace from the balcony of the Osteiner Hof. The mansion was destroyed by fire during World War II, but was restored in 1947-1948. From 1958 until 2014, the Osteiner Hof was in use by the Bundeswehr as military headquarters and officers' mess.

The Osteiner Hof plays an important part in the local carnival traditions. Every year, on 11 November at 11 past 11, the start of the carnival season is proclaimed from the balcony of the mansion.^[4]

Evangelical church in Mainz, Germany. The Christuskirche is a Protestant church located in Mainz. The Christuskirche was built between 1896 and 1903 designed by Eduard Kreyßig. It was consecrated on 2 July 1903. After demolition during the air raids of World War II the church was reconstructed between 1952 and 1954. The congregation forms part of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau.

In the predominantly Catholic Mainz of 1802, only some hundred Protestants could be traced at the end of the Ancien Régime. Napoleon Bonaparte was the first to grant them the right of freely practising their religion and he expanded their civil rights. Previously Protestants had the status of "tolerated" human beings, a status they shared with the Jews. Around the year 1900 already 33% of the inhabitants of Mainz had the Protestant confession.

Due to increase of the Protestant community, they had to search for new space. The extension of the old city borders by the new expanded town Mainz-Neustadt during the last trimester of the 19th century opened the opportunity to demonstrate the self-confidence of the Protestant community by erecting a new church building. Along with the Kaiserstraße, a new twin lined three-lane boulevard, the church was erected by Eduard Kreyßig, the master builder of Mainz, in Renaissance Revival style. The church was intended to be a representative counterbalance to the Catholic Mainz Cathedral. The mighty dome excels other churches and buildings of the inner city of Mainz.

Besides services, the Christuskirche is shared by lovers of music, since Diethard Hellmann founded in 1954 the Bach Choir and Bach Orchestra to perform especially Bach's cantatas. Fans of Gospel music enjoy the yearly performances of Colours of Gospel. Traditionally the opening mass services of the University of Mainz at the beginning of the academic term take place here.^[9]

Theatre in Mainz, Germany. The Staatstheater Mainz 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 underground passage and also by skywalk. Performances of opera, drama and ballet are presented. Its name was Stadttheater Mainz until 1989.

The main building was constructed between 1829 and 1833 by Georg Moller in Neoclassical style. The construction had been requested by the bourgeoisie of the city of Mainz for decades and cost 280,000 guilders (the city's budget amounted to 300,000 guilders at that time). The theatre's great hall (Großes Haus) was destroyed by bombing during World War II. Friedrich Meyer-Oertel became director of the theatre in 1968. The small hall (Kleines Haus) was built in 1997. Remedial work from 1976 to 1977 aimed at restoring Moller's rotunda were undertaken by Dieter Oesterlen. Between 1998 and 2001, extensive renovations were carried out to restore it to its original condition and it now seats 1,000.

The resident orchestra is the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz (Philharmonic State Orchestra Mainz).^[10]

St. John's Church is located beneath Mainz Cathedral in the historical center of Mainz, Germany. This 1100-year-old church was the first episcopal see of the Bishop of Mainz. It is the oldest church in Mainz, the oldest cathedral in the Germany of today and the only preserved cathedral building from late Carolingian and early Ottonian time in Germany.

St. John's Church is predominantly Carolingian in style, but later exterior additions over many centuries have resulted in the appearance of various architectural influences seen today. It comprises three naves and stands under the patronage of John the Baptist today. It can be assumed that the church was dedicated initially to Martin of Tours since Martin is the Patron saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz, then to St. Salvator, consecrated in 911 by Archbishop Hatto I and served as the cathedral for the Bishop of Mainz until the appointment of Willigis as Archbishop of Mainz in 975. It is documented that archbishop Erkanbald was buried in this first cathedral. In 2019, a sarcophagus was opened to gain more information on the early history of the diocese of Mainz. Whether it concerns the remains of cleric Erkanbald, buried in 1021, is investigated since then said research director Guido Faccani.^[12]

Botanical garden in Mainz, Germany. The Botanischer Garten der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 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 Franz von Bentzel-Weg 9, Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and open daily.

The garden was created between 1946-1955 on land formerly used as farmland and a military training ground. Over 3500 individual plant beds were created in those years; in the mid-1950s an alpine garden was added, and in 1986 sections for steppe plants and Mainz regional flora were established. The first greenhouse was built in 1948 with two more added in 1952, which formed the basis for an extensive greenhouse complex.

Today the garden contains about 8,500 species. Its major sections include an arboretum (30,000 m²), systematic garden, greenhouses, and alpine garden, with outdoor collections focusing on flowering plants and woody plants of the northern hemisphere temperate zone, and a greenhouse complex containing plants from Mediterranean climates and the Southern Hemisphere as well as tropical and subtropical crops.^[24]

Historical landmark in Mainz, Germany. The Drususstein is a nearly 20 metres high masonry block of Roman origin on the grounds of the citadel of Mainz, Germany. It was originally cased in marble. Researchers now largely accept that this is the structural remnant of the cenotaph mentioned by writers like Eutropius and Suetonius, erected in 9 BC by Roman troops in honour of the deceased general Drusus, in Mogontiacum as part of the Roman funerary art.

During the early days of the Principate the Drususstein was the starting point for elaborate memorial services in honour of Drusus, and the centre of the imperial cult in Mogontiacum. A procession road linked it to the public theater of Mogontiacum, which contained approximately 12,000 seats, making it the largest known theater north of the Alps. It may have hosted a part of the annual ceremonies at the day of Drusus' death, and probably also at his birthday.

After being robbed of its marble casing in the early Middle Ages, the Drususstein served as a watchtower in the fortifications of the city in the 16th century. For that purpose a staircase and doorframe were made in the structure, which had been up to that point a solid building. Besides the pillars of aqueducts and the stage of the theatre, the Drususstein is one of the few remaining visible reminders of Roman Mogontiacum. Together with the Igel Column, it is the only funerary monument north of the Alps dating from antiquity that remains in its original location.^[32]