Ulm - The tallest church in the world
December 6, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C
Wednesday – This morning we heard on the news that there was going to be a rail strike from Friday for three days, on top of all the cancelations due to heavy snow falls blocking numerous rail lines. There were many train cancelations so we’re fortunate that Martin was able to navigate through all this. Local knowledge and language is a wonderful thing. The bus stops in front of Martins place and we were at the railway station in ten minutes and didn’t have to wait long for the train to Ulm. As we got closer the snow cover got thicker. Very pretty. First impressions of Ulm were not another Heidelberg with modern shops, but then in front of the Minster (church) a colourful vista of Christmas shops in a compact market at the foot of the church. We did a Minster tour followed by a Christmas organ recital of Johan Sebastian Bach’s Fanfare on ‘In Dulci Jubilo’. Fabulous organ music but it was freezing cold in the cavernous open space with no heating. Afterwards we climbed the 392 steps up the spire to enjoy a magnificent view. For lunch we found a spot in the Abaco Steak House where Wal had a super Argentinian steak. Avoiding the rain as much as possible we sauntered about town until we located the Old Town and Fisherman’s Quarter. This area is medieval and beautiful and has not been touched by the war. Ulm is a town in which we feel comfortable and at home. When back in Stuttgart we received confirmation of the rail strike on Friday, and discussed our options. After dinner, on Martin’s advice, we returned to the main railway station to ask about the way ahead but left disappointed with the lack of help. Tonight, it was decided to leave the next day, a day early and before going to bed we packed our suitcases.
The oldest traceable settlement of the Ulm area began in the early Neolithic period, around 5000 BC. Settlements of this time have been identified at the villages of Eggingen and Lehr, today districts of the city. In the city area of Ulm proper, the oldest find dates from the late Neolithic period. The earliest written mention of Ulm is dated 22 July 854 AD, when King Louis the German signed a document in the King's palace of "Hulma" in the Duchy of Swabia. The city was declared an Imperial City (German: Reichsstadt) by Friedrich Barbarossa in 1181.
The Ulm Minster (German: Ulmer Münster) is a Lutheran church and is the tallest church in the world. The church is the fifth-tallest structure built before the 20th century, with a steeple measuring 161.53 meters.
The legend of the Ulm Sparrow - According to legend, the inhabitants of Ulm needed a particularly large beam for the construction of Ulm Minster, but could not get it through the city gate. As they were about to tear the gate down, they noticed a sparrow carrying a straw for its nest; which turned it from crosswise to lengthwise in its beak. A realization descended on the people of Ulm. Since that epiphany, they have placed long loads along rather than across their carts and were able to enter the city without rebuilding their gate. The legend is first recorded in a travelogue in 1826.Read more