Ulm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ulm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg (about 100 km south-east of Stuttgart). Its population is around 120,000. It is the seat of the Alb-Donau district.
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Geography
Ulm lies at th entry of the Blau river and the Iller river into the Danube. Most of the city lies on the left bank of the Danube; only the city district Wiblingen, Gögglingen, Donaustetten and Unterweiler lie on the right bank. 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). Neighboring municipalities on the Baden-Württemberg side include Illerkirchberg, Illerrieden, Staig, Hüttisheim, Erbach (Donau), Blaubeuren, Blaustein, Dornstadt, Beimerstetten, and Langenau.
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 settlement of the Ulm area begins in the early neolithic period, around 5000 BC. Settlements of this time have been identified at Eggingen and Lehr. In the city area of Ulm itself the oldest find is from the late neolithic period.
Ulm is first mentioned in 854 and was declared a city by Friedrich Barbarossa in 1164. Ulm blossomed during the 1500s and 1600s, mostly due to the export of high-quality textiles. These centuries also represented the zenith of art in Ulm, especially for painters and sculptors.
In 1803, it ceased to be an "Imperial Free City" and was absorbed into Bavaria. During the campaign of 1805, Napoleon managed to trap the invading Austrian army of General Mack in Ulm and forced it to surrender. In 1810, Ulm was incorporated into the Kingdom of Württemberg.
In 1938, it again became a "free city" (which means that it didn't belong to a county). During World War II, 80% of the city center was destroyed by an allied air raid (December 1944). The city has since then been reconstructed in a moderately modern style, with the remaining historic buildings still forming an important part of the city landscape.
During the 1980's Ulm and Neu-Ulm were home to the U.S. Army's 56th Command Field Artillery as well as the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Division.
Industry
- DaimlerChrysler Daimler Chrysler Research Center
- Daimler-Benz Aerospace
- Evobus GmbH
- Ratiopharm
- Nokia Product Creation Center
- Siemens AG
- Atmel
- Intel
- AEG
- Iveco Magirus
- Gardena (gardening tools)
- EADS
- Wieland-Werke AG
University of Ulm
Sights
- Ulm Münster with the world's highest church steeple (161.53m high and 768 steps).
- 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.
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)
Recent
- Albert Einstein
- Claus von Stauffenberg (born in Jettingen, today part of Jettingen-Scheppach about 30 km east of Ulm)
- Claudia Roth
- Erwin Rommel (born near Ulm)
- Hildegard Knef
External links
Other places called Ulm include:
Ulm is also the nickname of the École Normale Supérieure college in Paris.
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Cities and rural districts in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany |
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Cities |
Baden-Baden | Freiburg | Heidelberg | Heilbronn | Karlsruhe | Mannheim | Pforzheim | Stuttgart | Ulm |
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Rural |
Alb-Donau | Biberach | Bodenseekreis | Böblingen | Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald | Calw | Konstanz (Constance) |
