Mainz doesn't have a large population, with just over 200,000 people.
The urban area isn't large. From the Rhine River in the east to the ring road in the west, the straight-line distance is less than 5 kilometers.
The core Old Town District is even smaller.
But this very same small Old Town District is hailed by many as an organic fusion of traditional German culture and modernity.
Take the landmark Mainz National Opera House, for example.
Its exterior walls feature a traditional German red-brick style, and its overall design is typical of German architecture.
But its dome is a very modern glass curtain wall design.
The two are harmoniously integrated.
With the opera house as the center, the Mainz State Museum is a short distance to the north.
To the southeast of the opera house stands what is lauded as Germany's most magnificent cathedral: the Mainz Cathedral.
To the east of the cathedral is another of the city's landmarks, the Gutenberg Museum.
