Mainz, Germany - River Cruise Continues
One of the many really cool things about a river cruise is how close you are to everything when you dock. When we docked at Mainz we were just a really short walk away from the city center. This also means that when you're done with the guided tour you have lots of free time to just wander around and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the city.
Mainz is a city of about 200,00 inhabitants and was about 85% destroyed during WWII. Much of the old town area has been rebuilt and today the city is not only the capital of the German state called Rhineland-Palatinate but also an important city in Germany for the publishing and media industries.
The cathedral of Mainz is one of the most important in all of Germany, being one of three best known Romanesque cathedrals in the country. The cathedral was started over 1,000 years ago. Mainz is also famous for the Gutenberg Museum located just a short walk from our ship's docking point. Gutenberg's moveable type helped change the world by allowing the general public to read the Bible in their own language. Members of our group even got to operate a replica of Gutenberg's press and print a page from the Bible in the original type style used by Gutenberg. We were also able to review several copies of Bibles actually printed by Gutenberg. As you might expect these original Bibles are under tight security in atmospecially controlled vaults.
Mainz is a city of about 200,00 inhabitants and was about 85% destroyed during WWII. Much of the old town area has been rebuilt and today the city is not only the capital of the German state called Rhineland-Palatinate but also an important city in Germany for the publishing and media industries.
The cathedral of Mainz is one of the most important in all of Germany, being one of three best known Romanesque cathedrals in the country. The cathedral was started over 1,000 years ago. Mainz is also famous for the Gutenberg Museum located just a short walk from our ship's docking point. Gutenberg's moveable type helped change the world by allowing the general public to read the Bible in their own language. Members of our group even got to operate a replica of Gutenberg's press and print a page from the Bible in the original type style used by Gutenberg. We were also able to review several copies of Bibles actually printed by Gutenberg. As you might expect these original Bibles are under tight security in atmospecially controlled vaults.
The Mainz city hall.
Not everything in Mainz is old. Sculputre in front of city hall.
Look closely at the photo above. This is a construction site and what you're looking at is really a screen showing what the finished buildings are going to really look like. Quite an interesting approach.
Printing a page from the Bible on a Gutenberg style press. Printers of old must have had very strong arms after doing this 12 hours a day 6 days a week!
Finished product!
Statue of Gutenberg on the square in Mainz. Look behind him at the yellow arches. Apparently he is not a Big Mac fan as he has his back turned to the McDonald's outlet.
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