Domstraße 3, Mainz, Germany
Mainz Cathedral (Mainzer Dom)
One of the great Imperial Cathedrals of the Holy Roman Empire, a massive Romanesque structure in red sandstone where seven German kings were elected and crowned, standing on the banks of the Rhine for over a thousand years.
Mainz Cathedral is one of three Imperial Cathedrals on the Rhine, alongside Speyer and Worms, and its bishops once ranked among the most powerful churchmen in Christendom. The Archbishop of Mainz was the Primate of Germany and one of the seven Electors who chose the Holy Roman Emperor. The current building dates mostly to the eleventh and twelfth centuries, though it has been rebuilt after fires, sackings, and bombardments more times than anyone can easily count. The architecture is Romanesque at its most monumental: red sandstone walls, round arches, six towers, and two choirs — one at each end of the nave, an arrangement typical of the great German churches. The interior is darker and heavier than a Gothic cathedral, which gives it a gravity that suits its history. The cloister on the south side contains a collection of medieval tombstones and architectural fragments. The cathedral houses funerary monuments of the archbishops dating back to the thirteenth century, carved in stone and arranged along the nave walls like a gallery of medieval portraiture. The building survived Allied bombing in 1942 with significant damage, and the restoration took decades. Today it sits at the edge of the old city, overlooking the Rhine, as solid and massive as it was when the electors gathered here to choose emperors.
Diocese: Diocese of Mainz
Style: Romanesque
What to See
The exterior massing is best understood by walking around the entire building — six towers, two apses, and red sandstone walls that look like they could withstand a siege. Inside, the funerary monuments of the archbishops are the highlight: carved stone figures lying in state, some with remarkable detail in their vestments and facial features. The east choir is the older of the two and has the more austere feel. The cloister is quiet and usually uncrowded, with a fine collection of medieval stonework. The Diocesan Museum, adjacent to the cathedral, has liturgical art and manuscripts worth seeing.
Pilgrim Notes
Mainz is on the Rhine, directly across from Wiesbaden, and about thirty minutes south of Frankfurt by train. The cathedral is in the center of the old city, near the Marktplatz. It is open daily and free to enter. The Gutenberg Museum, celebrating the city's most famous citizen and his printing press, is two blocks away. For a full day of Rhine Romanesque, combine Mainz with Speyer Cathedral, about an hour south, which has the largest Romanesque crypt in Europe.