Mainz - Gutenberg Museum

We decided to have a low-key Saturday and visit the Gutenberg Museum which was a short drive away in Mainz on the Rhine River.

Johannes Gutenberg was born (1400) and died (1468) in his home town of Mainz, Germany.  He was a blacksmith, goldsmith, inventor, printer and publisher.

In 1439 he invented a mechanical movable type printing press which started the Printing Revolution and is regarded as a huge milestone of the second millennium.  By making learning more available to the masses his invention played a key role in ushering in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment and laid the material basis for the modern "knowledge-based economy".

Prior to his invention, books were handwritten.

His invention allowed for the mass production of printed books which was cheaper to make and purchase for printers and readers too.

His most widely recognized work was the Gutenberg Bible.  It was the FIRST printed version of the Bible ever made.   There are only 49 copies of the Gutenberg Bible in existence in the world.  The museum has several of them.

The Bible shown below was purchased by the City of Mainz to be displayed in this museum in 1976 for almost 8 million dollars.

Any embellishments that were added were all hand-painted.

We are now the proud owners of a facsimile of a page in the Gospel of John from the Gutenberg Museum.

Mainz was home to powerful Archbishops who controlled much of the local politics and power in the region.  This is the Mainz Cathedral.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

This beautiful walled city dates back to the 7th century.  Rothenburg will be one of those towns that we will come back to again and again. We can't wait to have family and friends come visit so we can show them around.

We stayed in a nice little hotel with a view of the wall that surrounds most of the city.

The "double beds" are typical of what you will find with separate duvets and the top sheet is missing.

We had all we needed with the tiny closet and a sparse bathroom.

Dave is always drawn into a nice toy store. Here he found a Niffler made by Steiff.  It looks a little too similar to his design that he made for Universal, HMMM?  In the toy business they always say copying is a sincere form of flattery. 

Some odd looking Harry Potter Plush, not up to PlayVisions standards!!

In all fairness Joanne, didn't eat all of that burger and fries.  We all "helped" her.

Each night, starting at the town square a Night Watchman gives people a tour of the old town and the history of the city.  He did a great job and it was a lot of fun.

I might have a Haribo problem...

We enjoy traveling with the Koeglers.

Lots of beautiful scenery from the wall of the city as we walked around it.

We have seen so many different Schwibbogen or arches in our travels and at the many Christmas Markets. But this one spoke to us when we saw it in Rothenburg. It is simple but so beautiful.

Here it is displayed in the apartment. We love this new addition to our Christmas décor.

When we travel, my phone and random benches often become my office. Mission presidents and missionaries keep me quite busy. It's all good though, it's nice to have a portable office.

As we walked the wall around the city, we noticed these cutouts at various points. They were holes for the archers to have a good shot at the enemy and at the same time stay protected.

 

The town square.

Joanne and I enjoying the cobblestone street at night.

Miltenberg

While cruising the Rhine River, all the Medieval towns began to look alike. The Market Square in Miltenberg, however, stood out due to the lovely colorful half-timbered houses and shops along the High Street.

 Lots of small shops with fairly priced goods made for a fun stroll - 

 Dave even purchased a hat and Joanne found a few things too.

I think Dave looks pretty handsome in his new hat!

Dave couldn't resist getting a picture of this statue outside the Water Closet.

Joanne is especially fascinated with the beautiful doors and their unique hardware.

We'll need to devote a full post on just doors ....

Cobblestone streets and half timbered houses, and lots of fun shops to stroll in and out of 

made this a most enjoyable trip. Not to mention the great company of Carol and Brent Snow

St Jakobus Catholic Church was adorned with lots of cute little cherubs. But we noticed the lack of reverence to the Savior.

These pictures are from the Toni Sauer website ... no snow when we visited.

On our way home we stopped at the Toni Sauer store in Johannesberg. Several carvers from around the area are commissioned to have their work sold under this roof. The craftsmanship was top notch and we ended up purchasing the ornaments for our grandkids here. 

Brent Snow was telling Dave he had some carvings of Moroni but he thought he was kidding.

Next thing he knew he was upstairs admiring his work and picking out one for his collection.

He has a very prominent place of Dave's desk.