Mainz is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Most of the city is upstream of the Rhine before it flows west. The north of the city faces Wiesbaden, the capital of the neighbouring state Hesse, and the east the confluence of the Main.
Mainz is an independent city with a population of 218,578 and forms part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region.
Mainz was founded by the Romans in the 1st century BC as a military fortress on the northernmost frontier of the empire and provincial capital of Germania Superior. Mainz became an important city in the 8th century AD as part of the Holy Roman Empire, capital of the Electorate of Mainz and seat of the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz, the Primate of Germany. Mainz is famous as the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the movable-type printing press, who in the early 1450s manufactured his first books in the city, including the Gutenberg Bible. Mainz was heavily damaged in World War II; more than 30 air raids destroyed most of the historic buildings.
Mainz is notable as a transport hub, for wine production, and for its many rebuilt historic buildings.