Friday, September 28, 2012

MAINZ

Mainz am Rhine
 
On Wednesday, the Pepperdine crew took a day trip to Mainz which is only about an hour from Heidelberg.  You can read all about Mainz here, and suffice it to say that "Mainz was founded as a military post by the Romans in the late 1st century BC.  In antiquity Mainz was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. The city is located on the river Rhine across from Wiesbaden."
 
 
Our itinerary had four main components:  the Mainz Dom, the Gutenberg Museum, the Augustinerkirche and Saint Stephan's church.  And of course lunch would be the fifth main component!  You can read all about each of these places at the links given, and a few pictures follow below:
 
 
The Dom [Cathedral]



A Gutenberg Press

 
 

Augustinerkirche

St. Stephan und der Kreuzgang

Saint Stephan's Church

Although the Dom and Augustine cathedrals are impressive as is the Gutenberg museum with its demonstration of the press, numerous displays and original Gutenberg bibles and other Gutenberg books, the Saint Stephan's Church with the stained glass by Marc Chagall and his apprentices is truly spectacular.  I recollect studying the work of Chagall back in the 60's at Goshen College, and had also read about the stained glass and seen some pictures.  But wow - to actually seem them at the church was amazing.  The following pictures will not do the windows justice but will give you an introduction to their beauty.  There are more images here - however a personal visit is recommended!
 
File:Sankt Stephan Mainz.jpg
 
 Click on the Pictures Above for Enlarged Views
 


2 comments:

SSA said...

I love those Chagall windows!

DES said...

Also, in addition to the beautiful visuals at the church, the acoustics are also very nice. In traditional Church of Christ fashion, Herr D lead our singing of several hymns - sounded great.