World’s Largest Bible Page Displayed in Germany to Honor Gutenberg’s Legacy
The Germany-based Mainz Cathedral is displaying the world's largest Bible page to honor the 625th birthday of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. During a media presentation on April 28, Mainz Mayer Nino Haase, and the Dean of Mainz Cathedral, the Rev. Henning Priesel, presented the 16.4 x 23.6 foot page, which is the first page of John's Gospel with a translation from the Shuckburgh Bible, a type of Gutenberg Bible.
"The huge page of the Gutenberg Bible fits well into the east choir of Mainz Cathedral. In the literal sense of the word, it is the hook for many creative offers that we are organizing for young and old in the cathedral and Diocesan Museum in the coming weeks for the 625th anniversary," said Priesel.
"Johannes Gutenberg is a great son of the city of Mainz, where else than in the cathedral could the largest Bible page be appropriately presented? You have to see it!"
In addition to the display, both parents and children are treated to a selection of Bible editions at a special reading corner in the All Saints' Chapel at Mainz Cathedral.
"The printing of the largest Bible page in the world was an impressive spectacle," said Haase. "I am very pleased that it's now receiving further attention with the exhibition in Mainz Cathedral and can be admired even further by the people of Mainz and, of course, the guests of our city as a highlight in the year of the 625th birthday of the great inventor Johannes Gutenberg."
During the opening of the "Kultursommer" (cultural summer) event at Fischtorplatz square in the center of Mainz on April 26, printer Markus Kohz and his team from the International Gutenberg Society printed the Bible page on April 26 using a traditional letterpress technique. The event was themed around Gutenberg and celebrated his legacy as the inventor of the movable-type printing press.
The Mainz Cathedral staff also organized a special exhibition titled The Whole World on Parchment: The Choir Books from the Mainz Carmelite Monastery. The exhibition is currently on display at the Mainz Cathedral and Diocesan Museum and is accompanied by a related program running through June 15.
A cathedral concert, scheduled for August 24, is expected to attract 200 people. The concert commemorates Gutenberg's centenary and the conclusion of the Bible page exhibition.
Cathedral choirs, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Collegium Musicum, and the Mainz Philharmonic State Orchestra will also participate. At the same time, Felix Mendelssohn's symphony cantata Lobgesang ("Hymn of Praise") will be used as music.
The Bible page will remain on display through August 31.
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Bookillumination
Originally published May 14, 2025.
