Umm….Ulm!

Ulm

48°24′N 09°59′E

1 September 2015

Ulm loves its sparrows. The fascination with sparrows is linked to a legend that during the construction of the Ulm Minster, workers were trying to bring a particularly long log through one of the city gates, but it did not fit. When they were about to demolish the gate they saw a sparrow which was carrying a long straw turning its head to take the straw longwise through a narrow gap.  The workers took the hint and from then on loaded the logs along their carts rather than across them.

I guess it is possible that this is true, although there are various origin stories for the legend.  What I don’t understand is that the locals have adopted it as their identity calling themselves and their football team the Ulmer Spatz.  More than that, there are sparrow statues and figures everywhere and half the hotels and businesses carry the sparrow in their name or logo. 

There are even some real sparrows to be found, although they are well camouflaged!

I suppose that explains while Albert Einstein, who was born here in 1879, only lasted a year before he moved on to Munich.  They do have a statue of him though!

               

                                                                                                       There is, of course, more to Ulm than sparrows.  The Ulm Minister, which started construction in 1377 did not reach completion until 1891, which was lucky because it opened up the opportunity to make the spire the highest in Europe, by 1 metre, creating a reason for all the highest, strongest, longest collectors to come to see the building. Again, there is more to the minster than being one metre higher than the next highest.  It is an impressive building with some great stonework.

I particularly like the Ulmer take on gargoyles which are scarier than the monsters found on most cathedrals because it is easy to visualise finding one’s self hanging out from the corner of the building in their place.   

Inside there are some very impressive wooden figures sitting in the choir,

and an interior filled with light.

On the night of 17 December 1944, the Royal Airforce bombed two large factories in the proximity of Ulm and as collateral damage managed to wipe out the homes of around 25,000 people. So, most of Ulm looks relatively new, but fortunately built in a style and scale that suits the age of the city: it was founded around 850 AD.

In common with many German towns, it has a relatively new library which we visited and enjoyed. They even serve coffee on the top floor, so it has become a social hub as well as a cultural centre.  In fact, in spite of loosing Albert Einstein, they did establish a university in 1967 and the University web page boasts of being in the city where Einstein was born – no mention of sparrows, though.

Enjoying the Library

The Library

The location of Ulm gives it an interesting place in history.  It is on the Danube which flows on to Austria and the black sea. Ulm is about as far upstream one can navigate a reasonable size vessel.  Accordingly, over the centuries refugees moving upstream from afar reached the limit of their navigation.  Ulm has a tradition of treating them well and along the banks of the river on the outside of the town fortifications are many signs and symbols indicating that Ulm welcomes refugees. 

We took advantage of the good weather and the location and hired some bikes to ride for 10km or so along the river in what is known as Neu-Ulm

Bikes on the Danube

Admiring the Spire

Putting this all together, I gained the impression that there is a degree of wit and wisdom in Ulm, and the sparrow legend may just be the Ulmer’s way of not taking themselves too seriously.