The Scent of Mainz
Discover the scents that make our city unique.
Sometimes your nose tells you more about a place than your eyes do. Mainz smells of history, indulgence, and joie de vivre — and of many little things that make everyday life special. Five iconic Mainz scents have made it onto our scent map. Each one carries a story — and exciting science!
Each of these scents reveals a piece of Mainz. Choose one and discover what lies behind it.
Wine — What does Rheinhessen smell like in a glass?
Mainz Cathedral — Wood, incense, and 1,000 years of city history.
Mainz Book Tradition — The scent of time preserved on paper.
Kreppel — The sweet aroma of street carnival.
Mainz Rose Garden — Home of the violet Mainz carnival rose and many other fragrant roses.
Discover scents yourself - use your nose for science!
Help us map how scent experiences change over the day and across different environments in a worldwide experiment with our SmellIT App. You will be compensated for your time with gift cards.
Nature also shapes the smell of our city. With our app feature “Scent Incognita”, you can find and record plant scents right outside your doorstep. Step by step, we’re creating a map that reveals how diverse Mainz smells.
Together with our team, we are working to digitize scents. We study how smells evoke memories, shape our experience of places, and make cultural identity visible — and smellable.
Text: Alexandra Gutmann
