If you’re looking for a great day trip from Frankfurt, the city of Mainz may interest you. Its rebuilt historic centre offers a glimpse of its former self with half-timbered houses, elaborate churches and even Roman ruins. The city is a short train ride from Frankfurt, making it perfect for a day trip.
Located near the confluence of the Rhine and Main Rivers, the city of Mainz has stories that transport you far back in time. Most of the city was decimated in WWII, but the rebuilt core brought it back to its glory days in the Middle Ages. Take a walk with us through the streets of Old Town Mainz.
To read about Frankfurt’s Old Town, click here.
Augustinerstrasse
The best place to begin your exploration of Mainz is the long pedestrian Augustinerstrasse (Augustinerstraße). Take your time to slowly make your way up the street so you can enjoy its many beautifully restored and rebuilt half-timbered houses.
Cherry Orchard Square
Off to its side is Cherry Orchard Square (Kirschgarten). In addition to the pretty homes, the flower boxes under their windows put the finishing touches on this lovely square.
St. Augustine’s Church
Another key feature on the street is St. Augustine’s Church. Its Baroque-style facade impresses with elaborate white statues decorating the pink church. But the outside is nothing compared to its flamboyant Rococo interior. Golden embellishments highlight the porcelain tea cup look of the ceiling and altar. There’s almost too much to look at in the nave to focus on one feature.
Market Square
By following Augustinerstrasse Pedestrian Street, you’ll end up in Market Square, once the centre of the historic district. Three sides of the plaza are home to wonderfully reconstructed half-timbered homes. Made even more special, the multi-storey buildings are adorned with paintings and statues as if they were an artists’s canvas. This square alone makes it worth a day trip from Frankfurt. Markets are still held in the square every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.
It’s quite obvious that the historic centre was rebuilt, though. Modern buildings on the new shopping streets are visible directly behind.
Heunen Column
In the centre of the square, you’ll find the 11th century Heunen Column (Heunensäule). At first, we thought it was an odd piece to be displayed so prominently. We learned that it was one of many columns built to repair the cathedral after it was damaged by fire in 1009. This column was never used in the rebuilding; instead, it was erected to celebrate the cathedral’s 1,000th anniversary. The artist who created Heidelberg’s Bridge Monkey, Gernot Rumpf, designed the base.(link)
Market Fountain
An elaborate fountain stands on the edge of the square. Market Fountain (Marktbrunnen) was donated to the city by a 16th century cardinal, and at the time, it was one of the only sources of clean water. It appears that the fountain is no longer working, but instead, it acts as a decorative piece in the square.
Mainz Cathedral
The fourth side of Market Square is dominated by Mainz Cathedral (Mainzer Dom, also called St. Martin’s Cathedral). We had seen its seven tall towers from a few blocks away, but standing in front of it, we could more easily appreciate its size. Unlike the rest of Mainz downtown, this massive Baroque building survived the WWII bombings, sustaining little damage. But that’s not to say it didn’t suffer from other disasters over its 1,000 years. The cathedral withstood at least seven large fires as well as invasions by the French and Prussians.
Mainz Cathedral traces its roots back to 746, when St. Boniface introduced Christianity to Germany. This building dates to the 10th century, and holds an important place in history, having been used for royal coronations in the 11th and 12th centuries. As you would expect, having such a long history, it has been rebuilt and expanded several times. Today, it represents the variety of generational preferences that came and went over the centuries.
Inside, the large space doesn’t feel empty as you would expect. The Romanesque nave has delicately sculpted statues on many of its grey stone pillars. In addition to the main sanctuary, the side hallways are lined with old funerary monuments from the many Archbishops of Mainz.
At the side of the nave lies a serene space: a two-story, 15th century cloister encircles a manicured garden.
In front of the cathedral is Nagelsäule (Nail Column). During WWI, it was used in a propaganda and fundraising campaign. Donors could pound nails into the column, which is how it received its name.
Gutenberg Museum
The illustrious Gutenberg Museum is usually housed in the stunning 17th century Zum Römischen Kaiser (Palace of the Holy Roman Emperor). In the summer of 2025, the building was closed for restoration, and the museum was temporarily relocated.
Frustratingly, there was no signage at the old space indicating its new location. You can find it on Google Maps, near the Parliament buildings, listed as The Gutenberg Museum. It shares a space with the Natural History Museum.
In the 1400s, there was an increasing demand for Bibles and textbooks in Europe. To meet this need, a clever Mainz native came to the rescue. Gutenberg revolutionized the printing industry by inventing the mechanized movable-type printing press. Before this, all books and manuscripts were copied by hand, but the demand was growing far faster than they could be copied. That didn’t mean that the printing press was immediately accepted, however. Many thought it was the devil’s work to have the Bible printed by a machine. Gutenberg persisted, and his invention was eventually accepted. Over time, his designs were improved upon and reproduced around Europe.
Gutenberg revolutionized printing by using individual reusable metal letters that were laid out in a negative template. He also created an oil-based ink to apply to the letters with a leather inkball. This template was then imprinted onto paper. He dabbled in adding red paint, but most of his focus was on black ink.
The museum is small, but it displays many 15th-century books produced by Gutenberg’s Printing Presses. This includes two of the first 40 Bibles ever printed by Gutenberg. For his earliest books, colour images were added by hand. After Gutenberg, others were able to include coloured dyes. Examples of these are also shown in the collection.
The museum also has a few old printing presses on display. Two of them still work. Museum staff give presentations on these old presses and even involve willing participants to help print a few pages of text.
Main River
Its location on the Main River, near the confluence with the Rhine, is what made Mainz a strategically important city in its history. Today, there aren’t a lot of sites along its banks, but it’s worth the walk to the river to see the Heuss Bridge. Built in 1885, the picturesque steel arch bridge connects Mainz with the city of Wiesbaden across the river.
As you walk back to the historic centre, you’ll pass the region’s Parliament buildings, as well as a few heritage churches and restored homes.
Iron and Wood Towers
You can still find two of the 34 original old towers from the city’s fortification wall, just outside Old Town. Iron Tower was built in 1240. The tall white Romanesque tower received its name from the iron markets held near its base.
A few blocks away is Wood Tower. Originally built in the 13th century, the current Gothic design dates to the 15th century. Both towers were damaged in WWII and rebuilt in the 1960s.
Mainz Citadel
Not far from Old Town is another historic treasure. The strategic location of Mainz near the Rhine River meant that it held a coveted spot, necessitating a fortification wall. Built in the 1600s, not only did Mainz Citadel survive WWII bombings it was able to provide shelter for locals during the war. Today, the citadel serves as a government office building, but is open for guided tours.
St. Stephan’s Church
A few blocks away from Augustinerstrasse Pedestrian Street is a restored church worth visiting. The current St. Stephan’s Church was built in 1340, making it the oldest Gothic Hall church along the Upper Rhine. Heavily damaged in WWII, its reconstruction took a novel twist with the addition of blue-stained glass windows that give the nave a blue hue. The windows were created and donated by Marc Chagall as part of the Jewish-German reconciliation in the 1970s.
Roman Isis and Mater Magna Temple
One last place to see in Mainz is tucked inside a shopping mall. When excavating for the new Romerpassage Shopping Mall, construction teams discovered a 1st century Roman Temple. Dedicated to Isis and Mater Magna, the temple’s foundation is all that remains. A small museum offers visitors a glimpse of the ancient foundation, along with a few Roman artifacts uncovered on the site and throughout the city. Despite its modest size, the museum is worth a stop.
Entry is by donation.
Getting to Mainz
Located only 39 km from Frankfurt, it is very easy to visit Mainz on a day trip from the city or from Frankfurt Airport. Take a DB or SB intercity train from Frankfurt Hbf Train Station (Central Train Station) to Mainz Hbf. They run frequently throughout the day. Some trains go through the airport, if that is more convenient. The best option is to buy a Tag Ticket. They are valid for one day and include multiple stops in a zone. They are not valid on long-distance trains (ICE). We purchased ours at the DB Ticket Office and found them very helpful.
If Mainz sounds interesting, you may also want to read our posts from Heidelberg or Frankfurt.
To read more of our adventures in Germany, click here.
Coming Next – Explore Paraguay’s Capital: Acuncion
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