Landeshauptstadt Mainz Direkt zum Inhalt
Landeshauptstadt Mainz Direkt zum Inhalt
With the invention of printing and the ability to rapidly and cheaply disseminate information, the Middle Ages came to a close. Within 25 years of the introduction of type, ideas and ideologies were spread that rent the very fabric of Western civilization and the Christian world. Simultaneously the Ages of Discovery and of Mercantilism and Colonization evolved as discoveries and travel were publicized in printed reports and books. The long, arduous, costly process of hand-written works and copies carried out by scribes and monks on tablets, parchment and rudimentary paper, a process some 4,000 years old or more abruptly ended. The printed word using re-useable cold-type setting allowed everyone access to knowledge and spelled an eventual end to Feudalism, absolute control of lives by Church and State, the spread of orthodox and revolutionary thoughts and ideas, and of life itself. Literacy evolved and liberty followed. All lives on Earth were changed forever by the printing press
Based on Gutenberg’s invention, hot-type printing and now electronic information transferral came about. The Information Age is now, the World Wide Web, internet, computers all descendents and variations of Gutenberg’s pioneering work.
Together with the Dom and the reminders of Roman Mainz and of Jewish Mainz, Gutenberg and the Gutenberg Museum are central to the culture and heritage of the city. A visit to the birthplace of printing, the Gutenberg Museumm is a „must“ for every Mainzer and visitor.One of the highlights is the chance to print your own souvenir of the visit on a replica press. The evolution of printing is documented, and Gutenberg’s first Bible is on display, also the world‘s tiniest Bible.