Mainz Sights

  1. Dom & Diözesanmuseum

    Off the late Gothic cloister, accessible from inside features bejewelled ritual objects from as far back as the 10th century and 15th- and 16th-century tapestries (English guide pamphlet available).

    Read more about Dom & Diözesanmuseum

  2. Druckladen

    In the Gutenberg Museum's Druckladen , across tiny Seilergasse, you can try out Gutenberg's technology yourself - on the condition that you're at least five years old. You'll be issued with a smock (the unique odour of printers' ink may, for many, conjure up the nobility of making the written word available to the masses - but the goop is hell to get out of fabric) and instructed in the art of hand-setting type - backwards, of course.

    Read more about Druckladen

  3. Gewölbehallen

    The Gewölbehallen has artwork from the Dom, including sculptures from the rood screen (1239) - the work of the renowned Master of Naumburg - that portray the saved and the, well, not-so-saved.

    Read more about Gewölbehallen

  4. Gutenberg Museum

    A heady experience for anyone excited by books, the Museum chronicles the history of the technology that made the world as we know it - including this guidebook - possible. Besides historical presses, old typesetting machines and several rooms on pre-Gutenberg printing in Korea, Japan and China, you can admire hand-copied manuscripts as well as printed masterpieces such as Gutenberg's original Bible. For a 1925 re-creation of Gutenberg's print shop, head to the basement.

    Read more about Gutenberg Museum

  5. Landesmuseum Mainz

    The rich and far-reaching collection of the Landesmuseum Mainz, housed in the former prince-elector's stables, traces the region's cultural history from the Stone Age to the present. Treasures include the famous Jupitersäule, a Roman triumphal column from the 1st century.

    Read more about Landesmuseum Mainz

  6. Museum für Antike Schiffahrt

    In 1981 excavations for a hotel spectacularly unearthed the remains of five wooden ships of the Romans' Rhine flotilla, once used to thwart Germanic tribes trying to intrude upon Roman settlements. They are now on display - along with two full-size replicas - in the Museum für Antike Schiffahrt .

    Read more about Museum für Antike Schiffahrt