What is "mainz"

Mainz (; ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. In antiquity Mainz was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire; it was founded as a military post by the Romans in the late 1st century BC and became the provincial capital of Germania Superior. The city is located on the river Rhine at its confluence with the Main opposite Wiesbaden, in the western part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main; in the modern age, Frankfurt shares much of its regional importance.

The city is famous as the home of the invention of the movable-type printing press, as the first books printed using movable type were manufactured in Mainz by Gutenberg in the early 1450s. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English by its French name: Mayence.

Mainz is a German quarterly journal that publishes on cultural, political, economic, and historical aspects of the German city of Mainz. The journal was founded in 1981 by the later mayor of Mainz, . It is currently edited by Michael Bonewitz. The journal has sections on culture, city history, politics, sports, and other topics, and contains full-color illustrations.

Mainz is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag. One of fifteen districts covering the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, it consists of the city of Mainz and the neighbouring areas.

The constituency was created for the 1949 election, the first election in West Germany after World War II. The constituency was held by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) until the 1969 election, when it was gained by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The CDU regained the seat at the 1983 election holding it until an SPD gain in 1998. The current representative, Ute Granold, regained the constituency for the CDU at the 2009 election, but will not be a candidate at the 2013 election.