Join historian and tour guide Dr. Elmar Rettinger on a journey of discovery: Where did Johannes Gutenberg, the great inventor of printing with movable type, live in Mainz—and how? Where can you still find evidence of his work today?

Past the Nagelsäule (nail column) towards the cathedral, you will find the cathedral cloister (Station 3), which dates back to around 1400 and is one of the few buildings in Mainz that still bears witness to Gutenberg's era. One of the largest collections of tapestries, impressive in their brilliance and quality, can be found in the adjacent Diocesan Museum.

The Haus zum Korb, in the nearby Brand shopping center (Station 4, Am Brand 6), also bears witness to the late Gothic architectural style of Gutenberg's time. Attached to the Humbrechthof, it belonged to one of the oldest printing houses in Mainz: the Fust-Schöfferschen Druckerei. Fust, originally a business partner, later became Gutenberg's competitor. The famous first Bible, the B 42, is also said to have been printed in the printing house in the Haus zum Humbrecht at Schusterstraße 22 (Station 5).

The Gutenberg monument, designed by the Dane Thorvaldsen, has stood on Gutenbergplatz in front of the State Theater since 1837. The statue, which was completely renovated in 2010, shows the inventor bearded, elegantly dressed, with a Bible and printing types in his hands. (Station 6)

Also on Schusterstraße, on the corner of Christofsstraße, stood the Hof zum Gutenberg, Gutenberg's birthplace and the site of his first printing shop, now called the Urdruckerei (original printing shop). The building, which was completely destroyed during World War II, now houses a pharmacy. (Station 8). His final resting place was also located in the immediate vicinity of Gutenberg's birthplace (Station 7). In the 15th century, a Franciscan monastery with a monastery church stood on the site of today's Old University. Both were lost during the recapture of Mainz in 1793 – and with them any traces of Gutenberg's grave that may have remained.

St. Christoph's Church, also largely destroyed during World War II, is believed to be Gutenberg's parish church. The baptismal font located there dates from his time. However, the assumption that it is also Gutenberg's baptismal font has not been confirmed (stations 9 and 9a).

Not far from his parish church was Gutenberg's last residence, the Algesheimer Hof, where he is said to have spent his last years as courtier to the Archbishop of Mainz (station 10). This building was completely redesigned and rebuilt in the 18th century. From here, it takes just a few minutes to walk back across the Brand to the end of the tour, the Gutenberg Museum.