Saint Martins Cathedral (The Dom) Mainz, Germany

 

During our recent stay in Mainz, Germany we decided to visit Saint Martin’s Cathedral aka the Mainzer Dom or ‘the Dom’ located in the city center. It’s one of the ‘must see’ churches in the Mainz area. We only had time to see one with it’s 1000 years of history, and it has burned 7 times during it’s history!

The Cathedral is located in the Mainz city walkplatz, there are several parking garages near there that you can use. There is not much street parking so your best bet is to use a parking garage.

This is not the easiest place to take an pic of the whole building from inside the walkplatz! There is only so much you can back up and I forgot to bring the shorter lens, which I really needed for a shot of the whole building. Note to self, carry BOTH while traveling Europe 😉

There is also a Dom-Cafe on the outside of the Cathedral in the Walkplatz as well. To get in the church you go to the left and around the right corner, entrance will be ahead on the right.

There are also several neat looking items sprinkled throughout the walkplatz.

You pass these doors, just before the entrance to Saint Martins, I love them!

There is no fee for entry but if you need to use the restroom it is €0.30 per person and there is an attendant at the door. There are also brochures located throughout the church with donation boxes underneath, we did not get one because they were in German.

It is a self-guided tour so you can walk around and view the inside of the Cathedral as well as the courtyard at your own pace. We were there for around 30 minutes so it doesn’t take a long time to see it all.

I had read reviews online and people complained about it being dark inside, it was dark but it didn’t hamper our visit any. We were still able to see all the things we wanted to see and to take pictures although they are a bit grainy if blown up, I really didn’t feel like messing with it a whole lot. I did notice a guy with a little point and shoot having a bit of hard time.

Some of the statues and sculptures were enormous! I had Bea stand next to this one so you could get an idea.

The ceiling above the organs, I love the architecture…Europe sure got that right. America’s buildings are so boring compared to here and the don’t have nearly as much history.

There were also some crypts you can walk down into but the were a bit unimpressive and short because you couldn’t go far. You could view what is the remains of one of the Bishops…yeah creepy.

After you tour the Cathedral you can walk out in the courtyard area, although they do close this area off about 20 minutes before closing time.

A view of the Cathedral from across the courtyard.

Another courtyard view.

There is also a covered area around the courtyard where we found these awesome ceilings.

I’m glad we went and were able to mark it off our ‘seen’ list. It was a quick stop for us. It was our first church so I didn’t know what to expect. I’m glad we seen it because it’s a ‘to see’ place in the area but I wouldn’t go back for a second visit. Not sure yet if all churches will be like this or not yet. I mean it was neat but it wasn’t extraordinary or a place I’d say you HAVE to go check out if your short on time.

Know Before You Go:

What: Saint Martin’s Cathedral (The Dom) in Mainz, Germany.

How To Get There: Approximately 1 hour 45 minutes from Spangdahlem and 1 hour from Ramstein.

Parking: Follow the Parking signs to a garage, cost will depend on how long you are there.

Cost: Free

Traveling with little kids: The church is very quite inside to keep that in mind when traveling with kids.

How long: Plan on at least 30 minutes.

Where to find info: Above links

Have you been to Saint Martin’s Cathedral? What did you think?