I returned to Germany to spend Christmas with my Family and to see some places. The Mainz Cathedral, formally known in English as St. Martin Cathedral (in German Mainzer Dom, sometimes Der Hohe Dom zu Mainz) was a must see amongst the places we visited.

The Mainzer Cathedral is predominantly Romanesque in style, but later exterior additions over many centuries has resulted in the appearance of various architectural influences seen today.

In the early Middle Ages, Mainz was a centre for the Christianisation of the German and Slavic peoples. The first Archbishop in Mainz, Boniface( whose statue is below titled Erzbishop), was killed in 754 while trying to convert the Frisians to Christianity and is buried in Fulda.Other early archbishops of Mainz include Rabanus Maurus, the scholar and author, and Willigis (975–1011), who began construction on the current building of the Mainz Cathedral and founded the monastery of St. Stephan.

Some of the above was taken from resources online. There is of course alot more that I could include about this Dom's history, but I assume that the images speak for themselves. I honestly felt incredible small inside this Dom. Its high ceilings are just breath taking. The paintings along the walls are truly captured by artists. Statues whom were given life by hammering their faces out of stone are simply mind boggelin.

You also see in the image with the Rathaus ( town hall ) the Fashing fountain. The fashing fountain is a mark of Mainz. The statues that you see ( drummer and Harlekin) also are part of that Fashing section. Mainz is well known for their Fashing Time. They celebrate hard and heavy ( hip hip Hura)