In the early Middle Ages, Mainz was a center for Christianizing the German and Slavic peoples. The city developed into an important hub of the empire, not only in political and religious matters but also in economic ones. However, the city's development always emphasized its religious significance, primarily derived from the respective archbishops. The year 800 marks the reign of Charlemagne. None of the stone buildings from this period (churches, monasteries, aristocratic courtyards, and the city wall) can be seen in Mainz today. Nevertheless, Mainz has preserved many important archaeological finds and stone monuments.
The fact that King Charles began to issue charters in the city in 790 suggests the existence of a palace in the late 8th century. For a long time, it was believed that the king stayed with the bishop or in St. Alban's Monastery during his visits to the city. However, the discovery of a limestone throne from the second half of the 8th century suggests that an imperial palace stood in Mainz, where the emperor held several meetings (Schulze-Dörrlamm, 2009).
Despite limited knowledge about the residents' living conditions, archaeological findings provide significant insights (Weidemann, 1968). The Roman city wall on the Rhine was dismantled in Carolingian times, but Archbishop Hatto I erected a new wall near the Rhine in the late 9th century to safeguard the merchants' district. Excavations, particularly at the Hilton II Hotel site in Löhrstraße, uncovered unfinished castings, semi-finished products, costume elements, and utensils, indicating the presence of workshops (Wamers, 1995).
Since the time of Boniface, Mainz had been actively involved in the Christianization of the Slavs and other Eastern peoples, continuing to develop into an important hub of the empire. Regrettably, due to time and financial constraints, many historically significant buildings were not archaeologically examined, resulting in a loss of valuable insights into Mainz's economic past. Written records mention fortified manor houses within the city walls, including unpopulated areas, belonging to Frankish nobles. The private churches of St. Brigida, Hagen, and Altmünster hint at their locations.The only archaeological evidence so far is a dual-sided board game stone adorned with stag's antlers and a river claw relief ending in duck heads, characteristic of 8th to early 9th-century design (Schulze-Dörrlamm, 2009).
Unfortunately, apart from the excavations associated with the church, not much is known about this period. Most of the information is contained in written sources. However, it has been possible to prepare a hypothetical reconstruction of the entire town using a symbolic, repetitive wooden building reconstructed on the basis of the buildings presented at the Lauresham Experimental Archaeology Laboratory. The reconstruction was also aided by past archaeological findings from around the city and the substantive support of historians and achaeologists of the region. Below you can see a video of the reconstruction prepared by the Institute of Architecture of the Hochschule Mainz (AI MAINZ) in cooperation with the Rhineland-Palatinate General Directorate for Cultural Heritage (GDKE).
Visualisation of a hypothetical reconstruction of the city of Mainz in the 9th century. Produced in 2021.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Landesmuseum Mainz. (2020). Digitale Stadtmodelle: Mainz um 800. In: Youtube. [Video]
2. Schulze-Dörrlamm, M. (2009). Archäologische Denkmäler des karolingischen Mainz. In: M. Dreyer / J. Rogge (Hrsg.), Mainz im Mittelalter, 17-33.
3. Wamers, E. (1995). Die frühmittelalterlichen Lesefunde aus der Löhrstraße (Baustelle Hilton II) in Mainz. Fundberichte aus Baden-Württemberg, 20, 958–960. https://doi.org/10.11588/fbbw.1995.0.48435
4. Weidemann, K. (1968). Die Topographie von Mainz in der Römerzeit und dem frühen Mittelalter. Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz, 15, 146–199. https://doi.org/10.11588/jrgzm.1968.0.399031.