The city of Mainz (map) was founded by the Romans more than two thousand years ago. It's situated on the edge of the Rhine-Main metropolitan area, one of the most densely populated regions in Germany. The cities of Wiesbaden and Frankfurt are both less than half an hour's drive away. As is one of the busiest airports in Europe: Frankfurt International Airport. But just west of Mainz lie the forests of the Pfälzer Bergland and the vineyards of the Rheingau. The city of 200,000 has been the capital of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz since 1950.

Sightseeing
 

The historical highlights of the Mainz cityscape include the Altstadt or Old City center with its thousand-year-old Romanesque Kaiserdom or Imperial Cathedral. Visitors are also attracted by St Stephen's Church. In 1985 the late Marc Chagall created a unique cycle of stained-glass windows with scenes from the Old Testament. The dominant blue provides a mystic light to the entire choir part of the church. Mainz is also noted for its numerous baroque red sandstone buildings from the 17th century. The State Museum has priceless works of art from all major periods: from the city's Roman roots to the contemporary.

For cultural activities you can visit the State Theater with its plays, opera and ballet performances. And there are many smaller theater groups. A special highlight for the fans of political cabaret, satire and stand-up comedy is "Unterhaus" in an old vaulted cellar.

Printing and Broadcasting

The city's greatest son is Johannes Gensfleisch zum Gutenberg. He created the basis of modern communication with his revolutionizing invention of the printing press. Because of this outstanding achievement he was recently elected by American journalists in the book "1000 Years 1000 People" as the "Man of the millennium". Today Mainz is again a major media center: It is home to ZDF television, Germany's second major public TV network. The city also has studios for SAT1 and Südwest Rundfunk (SWR).