MAINZ, mints, Germany, a town in the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite the mouth of the Main, 20 miles by rail southwest of Frankfort. It is a fortress of the first rank, an episcopal see and a river port. The town rises gradually from the Rhine in the form of an amphitheatre. A railway bridge spans the Rhine a little above its junction with the Main, and a stone bridge connects with the opposite suburb of Kastel. A handsome quay, 330 feet wide, extends along the Rhine for a considerable distance, and large modern harbors have been constructed. The principal edifices are the cathedral, recently re stored, a vast building of the 11th century; the former electoral palace, now containing the city library (230,000 vols.), picture gallery, museum of Roman and Roman-German antiquities, etc., the old collegiate church of Saint Stephen, occupying the highest site in the town, the church of Saint Peter, the German House, or grand-ducal palace with the arsenal adjoining, the courts of justice, the government buildings, public hall, two new concert halls, central rail way station, etc. One of the most interesting
objects in the town is the house of Gutenberg which contained his first printing office. A bronze statue of Gutenberg, by Thorwaldsen, stands in an open space near the theatre. The great open-air resort is the Neue Anlage, out side the gates, consisting of extensive public gardens, and commanding fine views of the town and surrounding district. The manufac tures consist chiefly of leather, furniture, hard ware, carriages, carpets, tobacco, beer, chem icals, musical instruments, gold and silver wares, machinery, soap, hats, etc. The trade, particularly transit, is extensive. The principal articles are Rhenish wine, corn, flour, oil, coal and wood. Mainz owes its foundation to a Roman camp which Drusus pitched here. On the decline of the Roman power it was almost entirely destroyed, but was afterward rebuilt chiefly by Charlemagne, and became the first ecclesiastical city of the German Empire, of which its archbishop-elector ranked as the pre mier prince. Pop. 110,634.