Some of the gravestones on the sandy rise known in Mainz as the Judensand are close to a thousand years old. The oldest dated stone here goes back to the middle of the eleventh century, which makes this one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Europe. Together with sites in Speyer and Worms, Mainz formed the ShUM communities, centres of learning on the Rhine whose scholars shaped Ashkenazi Judaism for centuries, and in 2021 the three were listed together as a World Heritage Site. Mainz was Magenza in Hebrew, home to rabbis whose rulings were followed far beyond the Rhineland.
The cemetery is a quiet, walled place with weathered sandstone stelae in neat rows, some leaning, some restored, many inscribed in Hebrew. Access to the old part is restricted and normally arranged through tours or by appointment, so be ready to see it partly from the viewing area by the wall. Dress respectfully and remember that men are expected to cover their heads inside Jewish cemeteries.
Mainz itself rewards a pause off the bike. The red sandstone cathedral of St Martin dominates the old town, the Gutenberg Museum honours the man who brought movable type printing to Europe here in the fifteenth century, and the half timbered streets around the Kirschgarten are good for a coffee. The city began as the Roman legionary base of Mogontiacum, guarding the confluence of the Main and the Rhine, and Roman remains turn up all over town. In the evenings, a glass of Rheinhessen wine in a Weinstube with a plate of Handkäse is a very local way to end the day.
Riding in and out of Mainz is city riding: tram lines, cobbles in the old town, bridges with heavy commuter traffic and plenty of traffic lights. The roads become far more enjoyable once you cross the Rhine into the Rheingau and climb into the Taunus, where the Roman frontier towers that give the ride its name sit in the forest, or head south into the vineyard hills of Rheinhessen on quiet roads between wine villages. Morning and early evening are the times to avoid the city ring roads. Fuel stations are everywhere around the city, and Budenheim to the west is a calmer place to fill up than the centre.