Ulm

Ulm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube, about 100 km south-east of Stuttgart and 130 km north-west of Munich. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 (2005), forms an urban district of its own (Germ.: Stadtkreis) and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850 AD, is rich in history and traditions as a former Imperial Free City (Germ.: Reichsstadt). 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 gothic cathedral and as the birthplace of Albert Einstein.

View towards the old town of Ulm, Germany, from the right bank of the Danube. Click to enlarge.

View from the Münster towards Hirschstraße. Due to its almost complete destruction in 1944, this part of the city consists of modern architecture only. Click to enlarge.

Geography

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 (pop. ~50,000). 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 Schwäbische 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 (Stadtteile): Ulm-Mitte, Böfingen, Donaustetten, Donautal, Eggingen, Einsingen, Ermingen, Eselsberg, Gögglingen, Grimmelfingen, Jungingen, Lehr, Mähringen, Oststadt, Söflingen (mit Harthausen), Unterweiler, Weststadt, and Wiblingen.

History

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.

Ulm was first mentioned in 854 and declared an Imperial City (Germ.: Reichsstadt) by Friedrich Barbarossa in 1181. At first, its significance was due to the privilege of a Königspfalz, a place of accommodation for the medieval German kings and emperors on their frequent travels. Later, Ulm became a city of traders and craftsmen. One of the most important legal documents of the city, an agreement between the Ulm patricians and the trade guilds (Germ.: Großer Schwörbrief), dates from 1397. This document, considered an early city constitution, and the beginning of the construction of an enormous cathedral (Ulm Münster, 1377), financed by the inhabitants of Ulm themselves rather than by the church, demonstrate the assertiveness of Ulm's medieval citizens. Ulm blossomed during the 1400s and 1500s, mostly due to the export of high-quality textiles. The city was situated at the crossroads of important trade routes extending till Italy and was among the biggest cities in Germany, its area being second only to that of Nuremberg. These centuries, during which many important buildings were erected, also represented the zenith of art in Ulm, especially for painters and sculptors like Hans Multscher and Jörg Syrlin the Elder. During Reformation, Ulm became protestant (1530). With the establishment of new trade routes following the discovery of the New World (16th century) and the outbreak and consequences of the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), the city began to decline gradually. Around 1700, it was alternately invaded several times by French and Bavarian soldiers.

In the wars following the French Revolution, the city was alternately occupied by French and Austrian forces, with the former ones destroying the city fortifications. In 1803, it lost the status of an Imperial City (Germ.: Reichsstadt) and was absorbed into Bavaria. During the campaign of 1805, Napoleon managed to trap the invading Austrian army of General Mack and forced it to surrender in the Battle of Ulm. In 1810, Ulm was incorporated into the Kingdom of Württemberg and lost its neighborhoods on the other bank of the Danube, which became to be known as Neu-Ulm (New Ulm).

In the mid 19th century, the city was designated a fortress of the German Confederation with huge military construction works directed primarily against the threat of a French invasion. The city became an important center of industrialization in Southern Germany in the second half of the 19th century, its built area now being extended beyond the medieval walls. The construction of the huge cathedral, which had been interrupted in the 16th century due to economic reasons, was resumed and eventually finished (1844-91) in a wave of German national enthusiasm for the Middle Ages.

Like all other German cities, Ulm came under the control of the National Socialists in 1933. From 1933 to 1935, a concentration camp primarily for political opponents of the regime was established on the Kuhberg, one of the hills surrounding Ulm. The Jews of Ulm, around 500 people, were first discriminated against and later persecuted; their synagogue was torn down after Kristallnacht in November 1938. During World War II, the city was heavily damaged by allied air raids. The most serious attack occurred on December 17th, 1944, killing 707 inhabitants and leaving 25,000 homeless. At the end of the war, over 80% of the medieval city center, before the war one of the largest in Southern Germany, lay in ruins.

Most of the city was rebuilt in the plain and simple style of the 1950s and 1960s, but some of the historic landmark buildings have been restored. Ulm experienced big growth in the decades following World War II, with the establishments of large new housing projects and new industrial zones. In 1967, Ulm University was founded, which proved to be of great importance for the development of the city. Particularly since the 1980s, the transition from classical industry towards the high-tech sector has accelerated, with for example the establishment of research centers of companies like DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, and Nokia and a number of small applied research institutes near the university campus. The city today is still growing, forming a twin city of 170,000 inhabitants together with its Bavarian neighbor city of Neu-Ulm, and seems to benefit from its central position between the cities of Stuttgart and Munich and thus between the cultural and economic hubs of Southern Germany.

Economy

The city has very old trade traditions dating from medieval times, and a long history of industrialization, beginning with the establishment of a train station in 1850. The most important sector is still classical industry (machinery, especially motor vehicles; electronics; pharmaceutical industry). The establishment of the University of Ulm, which focuses on biomedicine, sciences and engineering, helped support the transition to high-tech industry in close connection to academic research, especially after the crisis of classical industries in the 1980s.

Companies with headquarters in Ulm include:
* Ratiopharm (pharmaceuticals)
* Wieland-Werke AG (non-ferrous semi-finished products)
* Gardena (gardening tools)
* Carl Walther GmbH (fire arms, especially pistols)
* Müller Ltd. & Co. KG (major German trade company)

Companies with important plants in Ulm include:
* DaimlerChrysler: DaimlerChrysler Forschungszentrum (research center) and EvoBus (production of buses)
* EADS, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company
* Nokia (telecommunication, research center)
* Siemens AG
* Atmel
* Intel
* AEG
* Iveco Magirus

Transportation

Ulm is situated at the crossroads of the A8 motorway (connecting the principal cities of Southern Germany, Stuttgart and Munich) and the A7 motorway (one of the main motorways running from Northern to Southern Europe). It is thus in easy reach of both Stuttgart (50 min) and Munich (90 min), whose international airports also serve the Ulm area.

The city has an important train station and is served, among other lines, by one of the principal European train lines (Paris - Strasbourg - Stuttgart - Ulm - Munich - Vienna - Budapest). Direct connections to Berlin are also available.

Ulm features a good public transportation system, based on several bus lines and a streetcar line. Park & Ride is available, as well as parking garages in the city center. Several streets in the old town are restricted to pedestrians and bicycles only.

Education and culture

The public University of Ulm (Germ.: Universität Ulm) was founded in 1967 and focuses on the sciences, medicine, engineering, and mathematics/ economics. With 7246 students in 2005/ 2006, it belongs to the smaller universities in Germany.

Ulm is also the seat of a University of Applied Sciences (Germ.: Fachhochschule), founded in 1960 as a public school of engineering.

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.

Interior of the top of the Münster. Click to enlarge.

Ulm. Marktplatz (market square) with town hall (right) and public library (center). Click to enlarge.

Ulm. View through Rabengasse towards the Münster. Click to enlarge.

Sights

Historic
* 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 medieval 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. [Rathaus:[1]
* 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.
* Kloster Wiblingen, a former benedictine monastery 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. [Wiblingen Baroque Library:[2]

Contemporary
* Building of the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG), an important school of design (1953-68) in the succession of the Bauhaus.
* Stadthaus, a house for public events built by Richard Meier, directly adjacent to the cathedral.
* Stadtbibliothek, the building of the public library of Ulm was erected by Gottfried Böhm in the form of a glass pyramid and is situated directly adjacent to the Town Hall.

Memorials
* Einstein memorial. A small memorial at the place of Albert Einstein's birth house in the Bahnhofstraße, near the train station. 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.

Other landmarks
*Fernmeldeturm Ulm-Ermingen
*Schapfen-Mill-Tower
*Mediumwave transmission mast Ulm-Jungingen
*FM- and TV-mast Ulm-Kuhberg

People from Ulm

Historical

* Ulrich Ensinger
* Matthias Böblinger
* Hans Multscher
* Leonhard Hutter (born in Nellingen near Ulm)
* Lienhart Holle, in Ulm in 1482 Published the first Ptolemy atlas North of the Alps.