Mainz

Mainz (French: Mayence) is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Miscellaneous

After the last ice age, sand dunes were deposited in the Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a nature reserve with a unique landscape and rare steppe vegetation for this area.

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Johann Gutenberg, credited with the invention of the modern printing press with movable type, was born here and died here. The Mainz University, which was refounded in 1946, is named after Gutenberg; the earlier University of Mainz that dated back to 1477 had been closed down by Napoleon's troops in 1798.

Related Topics:
Johann Gutenberg - Printing press - 1946 - 1477 - 1798

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Mainz was one of three important centers of Jewish theology and learning during the Middle Ages. Known collectively as Shum, the cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz played a key role in the preservation and propagation of Talmudic scholarship.

Related Topics:
Jewish - Speyer - Worms

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Mainz is famous for its Carnival, the Mainz Fassenacht, which has developed since the early 19th century, and is celebrated in a fountain near the centre of the city. Carnival in Mainz has its roots in the criticism of social and political injustices under the shelter of cap and bells; today, the uniforms of many traditional Carnival clubs still imitate and caricature the uniforms of the French and Prussian troops of the past.

Related Topics:
Carnival - 19th century

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The city is well-known in Germany as the seat of Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen ("Germany Channel 2", ZDF), one of two government owned nationwide TV broadcasters. There are also a couple of radio stations based in Mainz.

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