Port of Mainz

Lying on the western bank of the Rhine river, it has a long history reaching back through the Middle Ages to Roman times.

During the gradual Roman retreat from their remaining possessions in front of invading German tribes, some of the naval vessels were abandoned in a section of the port (likely around 407 AD, when the city was sacked for the second time).

[4] For the early Middle Ages, there is limited information about any port facilities, possibly reflecting the much-reduced stature of the city.

[6] The increasing importance of the wine trade in Mainz helped keep the port prosperous after the end of the Middle Ages.

In the 1990s, plans were then begun for a possible extension or relocation of facilities[8] that were increasingly by their location close to the growing residential areas of the city.

Since the area had become constrained for modern-day port operations, a section of riverfront to the north of the bridge had been selected for a new container terminal.

The terminal is operated by a private company Frankenbach (75%) in cooperation with the local publicly owned Stadtwerke Mainz AG (25%) as the site owner.

The excursion ships do not have port facilities as such in Mainz, but rather tie up at modest floating jetty terminals in the area of the old town, south of the Zollhafen.