Germany,  Mainz,  TRAVEL/HOLIDAYS

The Walk in Mainz

October 12, 2014.

It was around 10am when my publisher friends and I reached the Mainz Hauptbahnhof. We had travelled by train from Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof 38 minutes earlier. The air was cool and windy, and the sun was hiding. We had anticipated the weather and each of us wore thick jackets.

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Not one of us were sure how to get to Gutenberg Museum and so we decided to depend on GPS on my mobile phone. I had bought a local sim card with data plan on the first day I arrived in Frankfurt. From my past travels to Frankfurt, I figured that it is a whole lot easier to get local card and get in touch with other people online while on the move. Besides, I am an avid Instagrammer and posting photos with the current location seemed more fun.

*For more info on the local sim card, read my post here.

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Basically, we walked about 20 minutes and en-route the museum, I had captured a lot of photos that appealed to me. I am reliving the moment and invite you to take the walk with me now. Interested? Let’s walk.

hotelThis is Hotel Königshof Mainz, just opposite the train station.

thewalk2Chairs opposite the hotel.

berlinerBerliner Gemüse Kebap, Große Bleiche. This was where we had our late lunch on the way back.

thewalk3Somewhere at Steingasse Street.

thewalk4 Pandora outlet at Schusterstrasse.

 lowenLöwen Apotheke am Dom at Markt Square.

 thewalk5Dom Cafe at Markt Square.

 mainzerdomMainz Cathedral or St. Martin’s Cathedral at Markt Square. This 1000 year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is predominantly Romanesque in style, but later exterior additions over many centuries have resulted in the appearance of various architectural influences seen today.

lamaisonLa Maison du Pain, Markt Square that serves French pastries.

Overall, I have a total of 209 photos from Mainz but it is impossible to share all. Hehe. So let’s skip to the basic information about Mainz.

Mainz is famous for its university, its Roman heritage, its status as a media hub and regional capital, and its three most defining features: the Romanesque cathedral, the Gutenberg printing press and the Rhineland carnival. The people of Mainz have good reason to be proud of their city’s history spanning almost 2,000 years.

For over 1,000 years the city’s skyline has been dominated by one building, Mainz Cathedral. Towering majestically in its central location, the cathedral is one of the most important churches in Germany. Its foundation stone was laid in 975 AD under the aegis of Bishop Willigis. In its shadows lie the medieval and early modern quarters of Mainz.

The city is dominated by two architectural periods: the modern age, as evidenced by the town hall, the Hilton hotel and Rheingoldhalle complex, and the Renaissance-Baroque with the Neues Zeughaus, the Deutschordenshaus and the Electoral Palace. According to some art historians, the unusually ornate, nuanced design of the Electoral Palace’s facade surpasses even that of Heidelberg Castle.

Mainz also offers a wealth of fascinating museums. The Gutenberg Printing Museum and the Central Romano-Germanic Museum in the Electoral Palace stand out as the best in the city. The palace’s pre-history and early history collections, along with those on Roman and early medieval history, are complemented by large restoration workshops that enjoy an international reputation – even Ötzi the Iceman, found in the Alps, has paid a visit. An even broader spectrum, from the Stone Age to modern times, is explored at Mainz State Museum, founded in 1803 with 36 paintings donated by Napoleon.

The Cathedral and Diocesan Museum in the cathedral provides information about the history of the episcopal church and the bishopric. The Museum of Municipal History gives an extensive insight into the development of Mainz, while the Natural History Museum is the largest of its kind in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The Kunsthalle Mainz art gallery rounds off the museum highlights in impressive fashion: the strikingly redesigned building at the former customs port is now encased in glass and even features a sloped exhibition floor on a seven degree incline.

Source: http://www.germany.travel/en/towns-cities-culture/towns-cities/mainz.html

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