DISCOVER ULM

Ulm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube. The city forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district.

Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and traditions as a former Free Imperial City. Today, it is an economic center due to its varied industries, and it is the seat of a university (University of Ulm, founded in 1967). Internationally, Ulm is primarily known for its Ulm Münster and as the birthplace of Albert Einstein.

GEOGRAPHY OF ULM

Ulm lies at the point where the Blau and Iller rivers join the Danube, at an altitude of 479 m above sea level. Most parts of the city, including the old town, are situated on the left bank of the Danube; only the districts of Wiblingen, Gögglingen, Donaustetten and Unterweiler lie on the right bank. Vis-à-vis of the old town, on the other side of the river, lies the "twin city" of Neu-Ulm in the state of Bavaria, smaller than Ulm and until 1810 a part of it.

Except for the Danube in the South, the city is surrounded by forests and hills which rise to altitudes of over 620 m, some of them part of the Swabian Alb. South of the Danube, plains and hills finally end in the northern edge of the Alps, which is approximately 100 km from Ulm and is visible from the city on clear days.

The city is divided into eighteen districts: Ulm-Mitte, Böfingen, Donaustetten, Donautal, Eggingen, Einsingen, Ermingen, Eselsberg, Gögglingen, Grimmelfingen, Jungingen, Lehr, Mähringen, Oststadt, Söflingen (mit Harthausen), Unterweiler, Weststadt, and Wiblingen.

EDUCATION AND CULTURE

The public University of Ulm was founded in 1967 and focuses on the sciences, medicine, engineering, and mathematics / economics. Ulm is also the seat of a University of Applied Sciences (German: Fachhochschule), founded in 1960 as a public school of engineering. The school also houses numerous students from the around the world as part of an international study abroad program.

In 1953, Inge Aicher-Scholl, Otl Aicher and Max Bill founded the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG Ulm), a design school in the tradition of the Bauhaus, which was however closed again in 1968. Ulm's public library (Stadtbibliothek Ulm) features over 480,000 print media. The city has a public theater with drama, opera and ballet, several small theaters, and a professional philharmonic orchestra.

HISTORIC SIGHTS OF ULM

Ulm Münster (1377–1891) with the world's highest church steeple (161.53m high and 768 steps). Choir stalls by Jörg Syrlin the Elder (1469–74), famous sculpture Schmerzensmann (Man of Sorrows) by Hans Multscher (1429).
The old Fischerviertel (fishermen's quarter), on the river Blau is full of half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, and picturesque footbridges. Interesting sights here are the Schiefes Haus (crooked house), a 16th-century house today used as a hotel, and the Alte Münz (Old Mint), a mediæval building extended in the 16th and 17th centuries in Renaissance style.
The remaining section of the city walls, along the river, with the 14th-century Metzgerturm (butchers' tower) (36m high).
The Rathaus (Town Hall), built in 1370, featuring some brilliantly-colored murals dating from the mid-16th century. On the gable is an astronomical clock dating from 1520. Restored after serious damage in 1944.
The Krone inn, a medieval complex of several houses (15th / 16th century, extensions from 19th century), where German kings and emperors were accommodated during their travels.
Several large buildings from the late Middle Ages / renaissance used for various purposes (especially storage of food and weapons), e.g. Schwörhaus, Kornhaus, Salzstadel, Büchsenstadel, Zeughaus, Neuer Bau.
The historic neighborhood Auf dem Kreuz, a residential area with many buildings from before 1700.
Wiblingen Abbey, a former benedictine abbey in the suburb of Wiblingen in the south of Ulm. The church shows characteristics of late baroque and early classicism. Its library is a masterpiece of rococo.y

MEMORIALS

Einstein Memorial. There small memorial at the site of the house where Albert Einstein was born in the Bahnhofstrasse, between the present day newspaper offices and the bank. The house itself and the whole neighborhood was destroyed in the firebombing of 1944.
Memorial for Hans and Sophie Scholl. A small memorial on Münsterplatz in memory of these two members of the Weiße Rose (White Rose, a resistance group opposed to the Nazi regime), who spent their youth in Ulm. Their family's house was nearby the memorial and destroyed in the firebombing of 1944.