Mainz

mints, or Mayence, ma-ons', a city of the Rhine. It is situated on the left bank opposite the mouth of the Main. The Rhine is spanned by a stone bridge which has replaced a former and more picturesque bridge of boats. The city has a population of 85,000 and is an important center of trade in grain, flour, wine, coal, and wood. It has busy factories of leather, furniture, hardware, tobacco, beer, carpets, soap, hats, chemicals, musical instruments, and silverware. It is a military point of strength. The interest of the traveler centers in the antiquities. Mainz was originally a Celtic stronghold. It was occupied as a Roman fortress, 14 B. C., and became an important trading point. Christianity was introduced about 550. The city was favored by Charlemagne and it was for centuries the center of church affairs in the German Empire. It was also the center of a league of Rhenish towns engaged in trade. Such was its prosperity that it was known as the "Golden Mainz." A cathedral, partly Gothic; the citadel; a monument, said to have been erected by the Roman legions in honor of the Roman Drusus, 9 B. C.; the ancient palace of the archbishop, now a library, and a rich museum of Roman and Roman-German antiquities; the ancient cemetery in which Roman soldiers were buried; the quaint old streets; the promenades, pleasure gardens, and flowing Rhine, -all attract the tourist's attention. The house in which Gutenberg set up the first printing press still stands. A statue in his honor, designed by Thorwaldsen, was erected in Gutenberg Square in 1837. See Gutenberg; Cathedral; Rhine