The charterhouse, dedicated to
Saint Michael, stood on the Michelsberg in what is now Mainz Oberstadt, a site given to the Carthusians for the construction of a monastery by
Archbishop Peter von Aspelt in 1320. The conventual premises were ready for use by 1324 and were settled by monks from St. Peterstal Charterhouse near
Kiedrich in the
Rheingau. Construction of the church began in 1330; it was consecrated in 1350 by Bishop Albert von Beichlingen. Following an initial gift to the Carthusians by Archbishop Peter in 1308, the charterhouse at Peterstal became operational in 1320, and the Mainz Charterhouse counts as the first Carthusian foundation in Germany. On 22 August 1552 during the
Second Margrave War the charterhouse was destroyed by
Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. It was not rebuilt until 1613, after which the buildings survived almost entirely unscathed the
Thirty Years' War and being besieged in the
War of the Palatinate Succession (Nine Years' War). In 1689, during the
siege of Mainz, the commander in chief, Duke
Charles V of Lorraine, established his headquarters in the monastery along with Electors
Max Emanuel of Bavaria and
Johann George III of Saxony.--> ==References==