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MAINZ MUSEUMS
Gutenberg, Roman Galleons and Bubbly Wine

Mainz was the medieval capital of central Germany since Roman times located at the joining of the Rhine and Main Rivers. Aside from the magnificent red stone Romanesque Cathedral (see
Mainz Cathedral) the old city center provides a number of curious and eclectic museums all reachable on a walking tour from the city center and many of them free or a very nominal admission of a few euros.

Gutenberg Museum

Johannes Gutenberg is pretty much the reason we can read today. His invention of the moveable type printing press 550 years ago made books available for distribution of the written word to “the masses”, where before pretty much only priests and royalty had any literacy, the education of the “ordinary” man made way for the fall of feudal systems and the rise of modern democracy. Gutenberg spent his early days in Strasbourg France (See Gutenberg and a Little Good Wine) but his main printing shop was located in Mainz and the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz offers an exhibition of important printed works from the 15th Century. There are two copies of most famous of his printings the “Gutenberg Bible” along with a “letter a indulgence” that particular Catholic concept which particularly riled Martin Luther into changing the world forever.

The museum also has the early instruments for hand casting lead press type, ancient maps, other samples of printing, books, broadsheets, plates and exhibits of paper manufacture and book binding. The Museum Print Shop offers a hands-on experience in printing as well as lectures. Specialty books on printing and writing can be had at the The Gutenberg Shop. The English traslation of the website is partially complete.

Gutenberg Museum

Mainz Landesmuseum

One of Germany’s oldest museums, the Landesmuseum presents collections of art and cultural history from Roman times to the present. Roman stone monuments, painting, sculptures and handicrafts from the Roman Rhine Bridge, middle ages, baroque period, 19th and 20th Century and the largest collection of drawings and prints from the Rhineland-Palatinate. The Museum's website has a virtual tour for kids, but both unfortunately only in German, but might be fun if you have a child learning Deutsche.

Landesmuseum Mainz
Kids Landesmuseum Mainz

Museum of Ancient Shipping

When Rome controlled what was called “Germania” under the Emperors Caesar, military war galleons would patrol along the wide rivers and cargo ships would supply the troops and settlements. In 1981 the remains of five Roman ships from around the 1st Century A.D. were discovered in a building project in Mainz where the former Roman harbor once protected the far north borders of the empire. These truly unique original examples of Roman era ships is one of the few in the world. The Museum of Ancient Shipping is dedicated to restoring the artfacts as well as displaying meticulously constructed replicas. Visitors to the museum can observe the skilled restorer craftsmen and model builders in the workshop along with the exhibition of ancient shipbuilding and history of the organization and functions of the Roman fleet in Germania. Free.

Kupferberg Museum

When is bubbly wine not Champagne? When it’s not made in France. In California its methode champagnois or just sparkling wine. In Germany, sparkling wine is called “Sekt” and the Kupferberg in Mainz is the Museum of Sekt in the headquarters of one of Germany’s oldest sparkling wine vinters, the Sektellerei Kupferberg. The museum offers a journey through the history of effervescent wine along with tours into the historic wine caves and deep vaults which go down several levels with massive decorated oak wine barrels and one of the largest collections of champagne glasses with over 600 examples. A glass of the bubbly is provided with the guided tour and tasting is also available for an additional small charge. Aside from the deep caves one of the highlights of the museum is the Hall of Grapes, a whimsical art deco entrance hall originally designed and built as a wine pavilion for the World Exhibition of Paris in 1900. This one is located on a hillside a little out of town, but check at the tourist office at the Bruckenturm (Bridge Tower) at the Rathaus City Hall for transportation info.

Carnival Museum

Mainz has one of the oldest and largest spring pre-lent carnivals in Germany outside of Cologne (See Crazy Days) and 160 years of Mainz Carnival history is presented at the Carnival Museum, located in the historic Supply Depot building near the Romertor the Roman gate to ancient Mainz. Displays of famous carnival giant heads (Schwellkoepp), jesters’ caps and sceptors, costumes on audio and old film and TV broadcast recordings.

And don’t forget the Natural History Museum, the City History Museum, The Isis and Mater Magna Shrine of the foundations of a Roman Temple found while digging the foundation for a shopping center and the Roman-Germanic Central Museum with works of Roman Age and Frankish and Germanic Kings eras. Check at the Mainz Tourist Office at the City Hall (Rathaus) for a guide and map to the various museums © Bargain Travel Europe

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See Also:

CASTLE RHEINSTEIN
KNIGHT WATCH ON THE RHINE

WINE AND WURST
Sausage and Wine Bad Durkheim

DUSSELDORF
Biggest Little Village on the Rhine

SHARE A NUDE BATH WITH MARK TWAIN
Friedrichsbad in Baden-Baden

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