ULM

LET´S TOUCH THE SKY!!


Do you want to touch the sky and feel the world at your feet? Two main things are needed: being in physical shape and not suffering from vertigo. The 768 steps of the tower of the Ulm Church will take you to its top, where views of the city and its surroundings are enough to cut the hiccups. Exciting is being able to see the gargoyles from their same height.


The last meters are on a spiral staircase where only one person can fit. Imagine when you find one going up and the other coming down.


The Cathedral or Münster, as the main churches in Germany are known, has a tower that reaches 161m in height, making it the tallest church in the world.


Originally, the parish church of Ulm was outside the walls and every time Mass was celebrated its inhabitants had to leave the city with the danger that this could suppose. Therefore the parishioners decided to fund their parish within the city.


Although it may seem unreal, although it was built in a Gothic style and of majestic proportions, it was never a cathedral.


After the Reformation, it became a Protestant cult. Today it is one of several evangelical churches that exist in the city, the main belief in this region and in the country along with Catholicism.


It took a tormented soul, that of a monk, to shake the foundations of Catholic Europe. When Martin Luther edited his thesis, he had no idea what was going to happen. The result was the birth of a new "status quo" inaugurating Modern Europe.


From the Cathedral of Ulm:


The Upper Swabian Baroque Route starts traveling through countries like Switzerland and Austria
Ulm´s declaration was issued in which the Evangelical Church throughout Germany opposed the National Socialist State.


During the bombings of World War II, the city was virtually destroyed, as were the buildings around the Cathedral, which was miraculously intact.


The cathedral uses fully renewable energy for its lighting. The region is the second largest producer of solar energy in the country.

Ulmer Münster
Münsterplatz
Open every day from 9:00am to 6:45pm
€6 increase

RICH IN OMEGA 3!


The local specialty is a crunchy dish rich in omega 3 and therefore very healthy for health.
(Omega 3 is a polyunsaturated fat that our body does not process and that we must look for in the animal diet).


The local specialty is “Forelle nach art der Múlerin” which comes to mean trout to the Miller´s wife. It is a traditional recipe that is very easy to prepare. It´s trout breaded in flour, fried in a frying pan with butter until golden brown. It is usually seasoned with a few drops of lemon and parsley and served with boiled potatoes.


Historically, trout is one of the most consumed fish, it is the least greasy of the oily fish, freshwater fish that should be eaten fresh. It can weigh up to 15 kg, with an elongated, smooth, and slender body whose length varies from 30 to 80cm.


Its colour is silver with spots, its external colour varies depending on the species, light, age and even its state of mind. Even when it feels in danger, its colour changes suddenly, hence its great ease of mimicry and adaptation to environmental changes.


Its meat is very appreciated and tasty, being white or pink, distinguishing between white trout or salmon trout.


Its life cycle is as curious as it is interesting. Like salmon, it spends much of its life in the sea. Although they are born in fresh waters, in the clear and cold waters of rivers and lakes, they spend six months to five years in coastal waters to return and climb the rivers where they will lay their eggs.


Most trout are now grown in fishing grounds for their popularity and consumption. Later, they are reintroduced into rivers, lakes or swamps where they are the favourite prey in sport fishing, as they know they struggle tenaciously against reeds.


It is the specialty of Zur Forelle, a traditional restaurant in the Fishermen´s Quarter located on Fishergasse 25, where you can also enjoy views of the river and its desserts...with trout.

INVOLVING WITH FLAVOR!


The German chocolate cake is the perfect excuse to give or taste for breakfast or afternoon.
Simply irresistible, It is a layered cake with chocolate, coconut and walnuts, the perfect ingredients.


And what are the things, the most famous cake in Germany is of North American origin. It turns out that a housewife had the idea of sending a recipe for her creation, a chocolate cake, in which she used a chocolate bar that she carried as a German brand for the filling. It was then that the chocolate bar maker took the opportunity to distribute the homemade recipe on the packaging that would end up become into a German chocolate cake or “deutscher schokoladenkuchen” in German.


You can buy the whole cake or in portions at any pastry shop in town and even in coffee shops.
Once you´ve tried it, you´ll succumb to its delicious and creamy mix of delicious flavours, so we´ll give you a recipe so you can prepare it at home.


With an electric mixer, place 150 grams of unsalted butter with a cup of sugar and 3 eggs in a bowl. Add a cup of liquid cream and a tablespoon of vanilla.


Then we add 150 grams of dark chocolate previously melted in a boiling water bath.


Mix well and add 2 cups of flour with a teaspoon of baking soda.


We put the whole mixture in a greased tray with butter and put it in the oven for about 35 minutes.


Then let it cool for about 10 min. before misinforming the cake.


For the filling we heat a can of evaporated milk with 3 yolks. Add a cup of brown sugar and 100 grams unsalted butter. Stir well until thickened and add two cups of grated coconut, half a little chopped walnuts and a teaspoon of vanilla. Refrigerate the mixture.


Cut the cake horizontally into four equal parts and fill them in half with the filling and also the top decorated with some walnuts.


And it is ready to serve.

PAST AND PRESENT!


Markplatz is one of the most visited and frequented places in the city, as two of its architectural symbols are found. The two buildings symbolize the city´s past and present. Very close to each other, between which you will place yourself, making it the third plane for the perfect picture.


The City Hall called Rathaus in German is a very colourful building, decorated with frescoes that cover its facades, making it one of the most beautiful city halls in the country. No one would say that it was destroyed like the rest of the houses that surround the square. Although they have been rebuilt in modern times, all buildings retain their genuine medieval aesthetic.


The city hall was initially built as a commercial building with its stepped triangular roof, where Ulm´s famous cloths were stored, and later became the headquarters of local government.


It is open to the public from Monday to Friday, from 8am to 12pm. So, you can see on the inner stairs a replica of the flying artifact "The Tailor of Ulm".


Highlight for the astronomical clock located in the tower.


The Ulm Public Library is an avant-garde glass pyramid building that was built on the site of the old building.


Its exterior is as unique as its interior: a red-painted spiral staircase surrounding a double-glazed lift. Upstairs is the Reading Cafe. Its ceiling, visible from the ground floor, is painted with sophisticated optical effects that seem to extend the staircase to infinity. From here you can read, have a coffee, and enjoy the panoramic view.


The Ulm library is one of the oldest in Germany, where more than 600,000 books are kept.
It must be remembered that it was precisely in Germany that the first printing press company was invented and the first book fair was organized. Germany is currently celebrating the largest book fair in the world.


Free entry. Open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 7pm, Saturday until 2pm. Closed on Mondays and Sundays.


Marktplatz is the perfect combination of tradition and modernity.

THE CITY´S FAVORITE SON!


Once upon a time there was a boy born into a Jewish family who for Nazi ideological reasons was expelled from the city of Ulm. This boy ended up becoming one of the most brilliant minds of mankind and considered the greatest scientist of all time. His theories earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics.


We are referring to Albert Einstein, born in the current Banhofstrasse nr 20. In this place there is a commemorative sculpture in honor of the city´s favorite son.


The house no longer exists, as it was destroyed by bombing during World War II. His family moved to Munich, where his father set up an electricity company that was the first to provide electricity for Oktoberfest, which until then had run on gas.


He was a very still and self-centred child, almost late, who had difficulty speaking. As he said later, he wanted to speak well, so before he did that, he practiced every sentence in his mind.


Einstein always blamed his childhood’s behaviour that it wasn´t quite because it was too late in his life that he started asking questions about space and time, that others did from an early age. This slowness is what earned him to develop his theory of relativity. On one occasion, when he was sick, his parents gave him a compass. The magnetism this produced in him was what led him to fall in love with science.


Regarding the social situation of the moment, the Nazis came to power starting the dictatorship that culminated in the persecution of Jews (along with other sectors of society considered enemies of the system). The synagogue was burned down and many of the victims of this repression, mainly Jews, were arrested and mistreated in the old Fortress of Ulm, which still exists on the outskirts of the city. Any civil demonstration against power was repressed with violence and death.


Finally, allied air bombardment against the Third Reich would cause the destruction of 81 percent of the historic centre of Ulm.

SEARCH THE SPARROWS IN THE CITY!


The sparrow (Ulmer Spatz) is the symbol of the city of Ulm. In addition to being in all souvenir shops, many establishments bear his name and there are statues of sparrows around the city painted in bright colours.


There is a legend that the workers who were building the church of Ulm needed to pass some huge beams to the interior and the only way to do it was through the main entrance door. They thought the solution was to break down that door. And suddenly, as if by magic, they saw a sparrow passing through a narrow crevice with some branches in its beak, turning them perpendicularly to be able to enter and build its nest from the inside. And that was how the sparrow showed them the way to access their interior without having to destroy anything.
It seems the legend made it clear to the builders in terms of mental agility, but it´s just a story.


Let´s break a spear in favour of its builders, pointing out that they built the tallest church in the world.


Since then, the sparrow has become a symbol of the city that is closely associated with its Church and sparrows.


We propose, for fun, to locate your sparrows around the city, starting with the Cathedral where there are 2. They are scattered everywhere, look for them throughout the city and you will discover their fantastic buildings that combine in harmony with historic and modern architecture.


And that´s not all, go through the bakeries, bäckerei, in search of Ulmer Sptaz. Would you be able to pronounce these 3 words in German without locking your tongue?


Bread occupies a prominent place in German cuisine. The bakeries have become one of those privileged places for social gatherings where you can find those typical muffins with their characteristic roasted colour, in very different shapes, among which you´ll see our protagonist, the local mascot. There´s even a museum dedicated to bread in Ulm!


Guess what the players on the local football team are called?

AESTHETIC CONTROVERSY!


In the traditional Münsterplatz stands the cathedral in its new Gothic style surrounded by unique buildings that form a well-defined and uniform ensemble. Suddenly the Stadthaus appears, defying pre-established aesthetic values, breaking the scheme with its transgressive architecture, of exquisite white embodied in curved and angular lines.


The construction generated controversy for its avant-garde architecture that did not fit the style of the largest monument in the city. "The building provocatively extends the conventional practice of modernity beyond established limits."


The brazen work provoked a lot of rejection and won no less detractors. Over time, the inhabitants of the city of Ulm became used to the idea and assimilated the new monstrosity. Today, the square would not be understood without its new architectural tenant.


The Stadhaus, as it is known, or Townhouse, was built on the grounds of a former monastery that housed the city´s largest educational institution. Over time, the monastery fell into disuse and its degradation led to its abandonment, its demolition caused great surprise, although a referendum was held to decide its future, since it was perhaps the oldest building that has been preserved in the centre.


After its demolition, a large void remained in the square that allowed the Cathedral tower to seen in all its splendour. What became clear is that the cleared land should accommodate sophisticated construction.


The Townhouse is a multifunctional space that houses the Tourist Information Office and was designed to host and carry out exhibitions, conferences, concerts, etc...


Its geometric structure is formed by cubes and cylinders interconnected by glass walkways arranged on three floors covered by an immense terrace that offers a wide perspective of the square.


Its interior is articulated by an open staircase that connects the large open spaces illuminated with natural light that penetrates through its windows that cover facades and ceilings. According to the words of its architect "the most important thing is light, light is life".


The building is declared a cultural monument of special importance.


Stadthaus
Open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 3:00pm.
Munsterplatz

DREAM PLACE!


If there´s one place in Ulm that will surprise and delight, it´s the Fishermen´s Quarter (Fischerviertel). It was the first population centre that developed within the walls. In it were located artisans, tanners, fishermen, the humblest class of society.


Situated between the Cathedral and the Danube River, the "Fischerviertel" looks like something out of a fairy tale. It is surrounded by the Blau river that seems to isolate it from the rest of the world to preserve its authenticity and preserve it in time as in the past. You can see its mouth on the Danube just a few meters away.
Its houses and mills, authentic architectural gems, which seem to be conscientiously placed in the narrowness of its labyrinth or capriciously located on a river island, have managed to remain intact over time, giving them an image that cannot be erased. At the same time, the flowery lanes of its canals and bridges manage to create dreamy corners and unforgettable moments.


Its peculiarity resides in its picturesque half-timbered houses of various colours placed in an X and covered by a gable roof. Germany is possibly the country in the world where this type of construction has proliferated the most and where the design of beams and transoms varies from city to city.


The most photographed building in the city is the Schiefes Haus, a former mill turned into a hotel. Inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records for being the steepest hotel in the world.


-Schwörhausgasse 6


-Krone, Ulm’s oldest restaurant in 14th century.
Kronengasse 4


-Kässbhorer Haus, a former 15th century residential building owned by the founding family of Setra, the best coach brand on the market based in Ulm. Today the brand´s museum.
Fishergasse 23


-Gerberhaus, former tanner´s home from the 16th century. Today local cuisine restaurant.
Weinhofberg 9


-Lochmühle, one of Ulm´s oldest mills, has been transformed into a charming guesthouse overlooking the river.
Gerbergasse 6


-Schwörhaus, baroque palace. Today headquarters of the History Museum. From his balcony, the mayor reports on the penultimate Monday in July, as is the tradition in the annual public accounts.


Visiting time: approximately one hour.

A RIVER WITH A WALTZ NAME!


What if we contemplate? Before our eyes runs the second longest river in Europe, the one for which composer Johan Strauss wrote a waltz, one of the most brilliant compositions in classical music. It is the Danube or Donau as it is known in German.


Its banks are perfectly conditioned as a place of rest and leisure, which will allow us to relax and have a different perspective of the city.


The river divides the city in two: Ulm and Neu Ulm on the other bank side. Interestingly, they belong to two different states. Neu Ulm belongs to the state of Bavaria, whose capital Munich is the fief of BMW. Ulm, in turn, belongs to the state of Baden-Württemberg, whose capital is Stuttgart, a fief of competition, Mercedes and Porsche.


Bordering the brick wall parallel to the river is a group of very interesting residential buildings. The multi-story buildings stand out for their truncated pyramid facade filled with windows covered by red brick roofs with their typical casement windows, all designed to enhance clarity.


Single-family homes, a few decades ago, were in a terrible state and, with the social assistance granted, they were rehabilitated as a success in social housing.


Between these two types of houses is the Butcher´s Tower, with an old access door to the wall. It consists of a very steep slope. According to legend, the burly butchers filled the meat with water and stuffed the sausages with sawdust to gain fat. When they crowded into the corner as they were reprimanded, the tower gave way under the weight.


On this side of the coast, the "Tailor of Ulm" wanted to show the world that he could fly with his artifact.


Initially he intended to launch himself from the then 100m that the Cathedral tower had, but the authorities didn´t allow it because they didn´t trust him.


So, he decided to cross the Danube. The winds did not blow in his favour due to the cold currents of the river and he ended up winding the "river". The next day, waiting for the favourable winds that had not just arrived, he caused the main authorities present to leave tired.


Unter der Metzig / Danube Bank