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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: LUP-MAL |
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MAINZ (Fr. Mayence) a city, episcopal see and fortress of Germany, situated on the left bank of the Rhine, almost opposite the influx of the Main, at the junction of the important main lines of railway from Cologne to Mannheim and Frankfort-on-Main, 25 M. W. of the latter, Pop. (1905), 91,124 (including a garrison of 7500 men), of whom two-thirds are Roman Catholic. The Rhine, which here attains the greatest breadth of its upper course, is crossed by a magnificent bridge of five arches, leading to the opposite town of Castel and by two railway bridges. The old fortifications have recently been pushed farther back, and their place occupied by pleasant boulevards. The river front has been converted into a fine promenade, commanding extensive views of the Taunus range of mountains, and the " Rheingau," the most favoured wine district of Germany. Alongside the quay are the landing-places of the steamboats navigating the Rhine. The railway, which formerly incommoded the bank, has been diverted, and now, following the ceinture of the new line of inner fortifications, runs into a central station lying to the south of the city. The interior of the old town consists chiefly of narrow and irregular streets, with many quaint and picturesque houses. The principal street of the new town is the Kaiserstrasse, leading from the railway station to the river. The first object of historical and architectural interest
standing
The site of Mainz would seem to mark it out naturally as a great centre of trade, but the illiberal rule of the archbishops and its military importance seriously hampered its commercial and industrial development, and prevented it from rivalling its neighbour Frankfort. It is now, however, the chief
paper and vegetables. The natural facilities for carriage by water are supplemented by the extensive railway system. Large new harbours to the north of the city were opened in 1887. The principal manufactures are leather goods, furniture, carriages, chemicals, musical instruments and carpets, for the first two of which the city has attained a wide reputation. Other industries include brewing and printing. Mainz is the seat of the administrative and judicial authorities of the province of Rhein-Hessen, and also of a Roman Catholic bishop.History.Mainz, one of the oldest cities in Germany, was originally a Celtic settlement. Its strategic importance was early recognized by the Romans, and about 13 B.C. Drusus, the son-in-law of Augustus
capital of Germania Superior. During the Volkerwanderung Mainz suffered severely, being destroyed on different occasions by the Alamanni, the Vandals and the Huns. Christianity seems to have been introduced into the town at a very early period, and in the 6th century a new Mainz was founded by Bishop Sidonius. In the middle of the 8th century under Boniface it became an archbishopric, and to this the primacy of Germany was soon annexed. Charlemagne, who had a palace in the neighbourhood, gave privileges to Mainz, which rose rapidly in wealth and importance, becoming a free city in 1118. During the later middle ages it was the seat of several diets, that of 1184 being of unusual size and splendour. In 116o the citizens revolted against Archbishop Arnold
exile , and these carried into other lands a knowledge of the art of printing, which had been invented at Mainz by Johann Gutenberg in 1450. During the Thirty Years' War Mainz was occupied by the Swedes in 1631 and by the French in 1644, the fortifications being strengthened by the former under Gustavus Adolphus; in 1688 it was captured again by the French, but they were driven out in the following year. In 1792 the citizens welcomed the ideas of the French Revolution; they expelled their archbishop, Friedrich Karl Joseph d'Erthal, and opened their gates to the French troops. Taken and retaken several times during the next few years, Mainz was ceded to France by the treaty of Campo Formio in 1797, and again by the Treaty of Luneville in 18or. In 1814 it was restored to Germany and in 1816 it was handed over to the grand duke of Hesse; it remained, however, a fortress of the German confederation and was garrisoned by Prussian and Austrian troops. Since 1871 it has been a fortress of the German Empire. There were disturbances in the city in 1848.See Briihl, Mainz, geschichtlich, topographisch and malerisch (Mainz, 1829); C. A. Schaab, Geschichte der Stadt Mainz (Mainz, 18411845); K. Klein, Mainz and seine Umgebungen (1868); C. G. Bockenheimer, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Stadt Mainz (1874); Neeb, Fiihrer durch Mainz and Umgebung (Stuttgart, 1903) ; and 0. Beck, Mainz and sein Handel (Mainz, 1881). The ARCHBISHOPRIC OF MAINZ, one of the seven electorates of the Holy Roman Empire, became a powerful state during the middle ages and retained some of its importance until the dissolution of the empire in 18o6. Its archbishop was president of the electoral college, arch-chancellor of the empire and primate of Germany. Its origin dates back to 747, when the city of Mainz was made the seat of an archbishop, and a succession of able and ambitious prelates, obtaining lands and privileges from emperors and others, made of the district under their rule a strong and vigorous state. Among these men were Hatto I. (d. 913), Siegfried III. of Eppstein (d. 1249), Gerhard of Eppstein (d. 1305), and Albert of Brandenburg (d. 1545), all of whom played important parts in the history of Germany. There were several violent contests between rivals anxious to secure so splendid a position as the electorate, and the pretensions of the archbishops occasionally moved the citizens of Mainz to revolt. The lands of the electorate lay around Mainz, and were on both banks of the Rhine; their area at the time of the French Revolution was about 3200 sq. m. The last elector was Karl Theodor von Dalberg. The archbishopric was secularized in 1803, two years after the lands on the left bank of the Rhine had been seized by France. Some of those on the right bank of the river were given to Prussia and to Hesse; others were formed into a grand duchy for Dalberg. The archbishopric itself was transferred to Regensburg. For the history of the electorate see the Scriptores rerum moguntiacarum, edited by G. C. Joannis (Frankfort, 17221727); Schunk, Beitrage zur Mainzer Geschichte (Frankfort, 17881791) ; Hennes, Die Erzbischofe von Mainz (Mainz, 1879) ; Ph. Jaffe, Monument moguntina (Berlin, 1866), and J. F. Bohmer and C. Will, Regesta archiepiscoporum moguntinensium ( Innsbruck
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