Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was a politically important seat of the Prince-elector of Mainz see Archbishopric of Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. Mainz is located on the river Rhine across from Wiesbaden, in the western part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Region in the modern age, Frankfurt shares much of its regional importance. Mainz was founded as a military post by the Romans in the late 1st century BC. The first European books printed using movable type were manufactured in Mainz by Gutenberg in the early 1450s. Up until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English as Fayence. The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world, located opposite the cathedral in the old part of Mainz, Germany. It is named after Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of printing from moveable metal type. The collections include printing equipment and examples of printed materials from many cultures.
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