CATHEDRAL AT MAINZ

WIENER, Jacques: Germany, 1866, Bronze, 59 mm
Obv: Front-on facing view of the church exterior    DER DOM ZU MAINZ
Rev: Detailed interior view looking down the arched nave from the perspective of the altar
On left:  ERSTE ERBAUUNG 978
On right:  DURCH BRANDSCHADEN WIEDER AUFGEBAUT 1009 1137 1190
Signed:  J. WIENER F. / J. WIENER
Ref: Van Hoydonck 216; Reinecke 30; Europese Penningen # 75e; Wurzbach #5876

Mainz ( French, Mayence) is an episcopal see of Germany, which arose on the left bank of the Rhine. It was a pre-Roman settlement where, at about 13 B.C., Nero Claudius Drusus, the stepson of Augustus, erected a fortified camp: the Castellum Mattiacorum (the modern Kastel). The Archbishopric of Mainz, dates from 747 and was one of the seven electorates of the Holy Roman Empire. It became a powerful state during the middle ages, retaining some of its importance until the dissolution of the empire in 1806.

The cathedral is a Romanesque edifice with numerous Gothic additions and details. It was originally erected between 975 and 1009, but has since been repeatedly burned down and rebuilt. Its present form dates chiefly from renovations in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. The whole building was restored by order of Napoleon in 1814, and another thorough renovation was made later.

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