Siege of Mainz (1792)

Mont-Tonnerre [mɔ̃.tɔ.nɛʁ] was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the Donnersberg ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Donar, god of thunder). It was the southernmost of four departments formed in 1797 when the west bank of the Rhine was annexed by France. Prior to the French occupation, its territory was divided between the Archbishopric of Mainz, the Bishopric of Speyer, the Bishopric of Worms, Nassau-Weilburg, Hesse-Darmstadt, the Electorate of the Palatinate and the imperial cities of Worms and Speyer. Its territory is now part of the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Its capital was Mainz (French: Mayence). The department was subdivided into the following arrondissements and cantons (situation in 1812): Mainz, cantons: Alzey, Bingen, Bechtheim, Kirchheimbolanden, Mainz (2 cantons), Nieder-Olm, Ober-Ingelheim, Oppenheim, Wöllstein and Wörrstadt. Kaiserslautern (French: Kayserslautern), cantons: Göllheim, Kaiserslautern, Lauterecken, Obermoschel, Otterberg, Rockenhausen, Winnweiler and Wolfstein. Speyer (French: Spire), cantons: Dürkheim, Edenkoben, Frankenthal, Germersheim, Grünstadt, Mutterstadt, Neustadt, Pfeddersheim, Speyer and Worms. Zweibrücken (French: Deux-Ponts), cantons: Annweiler, Homburg, Landstuhl, Medelsheim, Neuhornbach, Pirmasens, Waldfischbach and Zweibrücken.Its population in 1812 was 342,316.After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the department was divided between the Kingdom of Bavaria (Palatinate) and the Grand Duchy of Hesse (around Mainz).

The Electorate of Mainz (German: Kurfürstentum Mainz or Kurmainz, Latin: Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz was also the Primate of Germany (primas Germaniae), a purely honorary dignity that was unsuccessfully claimed from time to time by other archbishops. There were only two other ecclesiastical Prince-electors in the Empire: the Electorate of Cologne and the Electorate of Trier. The Archbishop-Elector of Mainz was also archchancellor of Germany (one of the three component titular kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, the other two being Italy and Burgundy) and, as such, ranked first among all ecclesiastical and secular princes of the Empire, and was second only to the Emperor. His political role, particularly as an intermediary between the Estates of the Empire and the Emperor, was considerable.

The Mainz tramway network (German: Straßenbahnnetz Mainz) is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Mainz, the capital city of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Opened in 1883, the network has been operated since 2001 by the Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG), and is integrated in the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV).

The Walk of Fame of Cabaret is a sidewalk between Proviant-Magazin and Schönborner Hof in Mainz, Germany, which is embedded with more than 40 seven-pointed irregularly shaped stars featuring the names of cabaret celebrities selected by a group of experts and honored by several sponsors for their contributions to the cabaret culture. The first stars, awarded on July 16, 2004, were inaugurated in the presence of Christina Weiss, Culture Representative and Minister of State of Germany and Kurt Beck, the premier of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In January 2007, Peter Hammerschlag was honored, and his became the 43rd star on the walk.

The Bassenheimer Hof (Bassenheimer Palace) is an historic building in Mainz, western Germany. At present (2009) the large structure is the seat of the Ministry of the Interior and Sports of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The Osteiner Hof ("Court of Ostein") is one of several Baroque-era palatial mansions along Schillerplatz square in the German city of Mainz. The mansion, along the southern edge of the square, was built in 1747-1752 by architect-soldier Johann Valentin Thomann for Franz Wolfgang Damian von Ostein, brother of Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, who was prince-bishop of Mainz at that time. Characteristic features for this building are the three round protrusions (risalits) at the front entrance and on the two corners. The building is lavishly decorated; for instance, the windows are framed by rococo-style cartouches symbolising the elements of air, earth and water. The classical gods Diana and Mars are shown on the cartouches framing the balcony doors. The von Osteins, a dynasty of counts, were not able to make use of the mansion for very long. After the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by French Revolutionary armies, the mansion was appropriated by the state, and in 1798 it became the seat of a newly created département of France, Mont-Tonnerre. The building continued to be used as a seat of government after the Napoleonic era, even gaining the nickname Gouvernement during the years 1854-1859, while emperor-to-be Wilhelm I was serving as military governor of Mainz. During the early days of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), the Osteiner Hof served as military headquarters of a Prussian field marshal, Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. In 1914, then-military governor General Hugo von Kathen announced the start of World War I to the Mainz populace from the balcony of the Osteiner Hof. The mansion was destroyed by fire during World War II, but was restored in 1947-1948. From 1958 until 2014, the Osteiner Hof was in use by the Bundeswehr as military headquarters and officers' mess. The Osteiner Hof plays an important part in the local carnival traditions. Every year, on 11 November at 11 past 11, the start of the carnival season is proclaimed from the balcony of the mansion.

The Altmünster abbey near Mainz, Germany, was reputedly founded by Saint Bilihildis (d. 734), who served as the first abbess; however, it may well be a 7th-century foundation. Though founded as a Benedictine abbey, it adopted the rule of the Cistercians in the 13th century. It was dissolved during the secularization of the 18th century, and the abbey buildings were demolished. The abbey church was given to a Protestant congregation in the early 19th century; it was destroyed during World War II but rebuilt and reconsecrated.

The Landesmuseum Mainz, or Mainz State Museum, is a museum of art and history in Mainz, Germany. In March 2010 it reopened in full after an extensive renovation.The museum has its roots in a painting collection donated by Napoleon and Chaptal to the city of Mainz in 1803. It moved into its current location, in the former electoral stables, in 1937, by which time it had grown significantly. It received its present name in 1986, and was renovated and modernised from 2004 to 2010.

In the siege of Mainz (German: Belagerung von Mainz), from 14 April to 23 July 1793, a coalition of Prussia, Austria, and other German states led by the Holy Roman Empire besieged and captured Mainz from revolutionary French forces. The allies, especially the Prussians, first tried negotiations, but this failed, and the bombardment of the city began on the night of 17 June.

The Battle of Mainz (29 October 1795) saw a Habsburg Austrian army led by Field Marshall François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt launch a surprise assault against four divisions belonging to the French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle directed by General of Division François Ignace Schaal. The right-most French division was completely routed and all the French troops were compelled to retreat with the loss of their siege artillery and many casualties. Clerfayt followed up his Rhine campaign of 1795 victory by driving most of General of Division Jean-Charles Pichegru's Army of Rhin-et-Moselle south. The War of the First Coalition action was fought near the city of Mainz in the modern-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. French troops had ineffectively besieged the western side of Mainz Fortress since December 1794. However, in early September 1795 the General of Division Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's Army of Sambre-et-Meuse crossed the lower Rhine River and advanced south to the Main River. For the first time Mainz was besieged on the east side of the river, but this state of affairs did not last long. After the Battle of Höchst, Clerfayt forced Jourdan's army to retire to the west bank of the Rhine. With Jourdan temporarily out of the picture, Clerfayt fell on Schaal's somewhat isolated corps and drove it away to the south. During this time the commander of the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle, Pichegru was in treasonous contact with France's enemies, perhaps accounting for Austria's success. The next clash was the Battle of Pfeddersheim on 10 November. The siege was the second time balloon reconnaissance had been used, after the Battle of Fleurus (1794).

The Staatstheater Mainz (Mainz State Theatre) is a theatre in Mainz, Germany, which is owned and operated by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated on the Gutenbergplatz, the complex comprises two theatres which are connected by an underground passage and also by skywalk. Performances of opera, drama and ballet are presented. Its name was Stadttheater Mainz (municipal theatre) until 1989. The main building was constructed between 1829 and 1833 by Georg Moller in Neoclassical style. The construction had been requested by the bourgeoisie of the city of Mainz for decades and cost 280,000 guilders (the city's budget amounted to 300,000 guilders at that time). The theatre's great hall (Großes Haus) was destroyed by bombing during World War II. Friedrich Meyer-Oertel became director of the theatre in 1968. The small hall (Kleines Haus) was built in 1997. Remedial work from 1976 to 1977 aimed at restoring Moller's rotunda were undertaken by Dieter Oesterlen. Between 1998 and 2001, extensive renovations were carried out to restore it to its original condition and it now seats 1,000. The resident orchestra is the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz (Philharmonic State Orchestra Mainz).

The Collegiate Church of St. Stephan, known in German as St. Stephan zu Mainz, is a Gothic hall collegiate church located in the German city of Mainz. It is known for windows created by Marc Chagall.