Fischerviertel Bridge crossing the Blau River in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

Venice's power,

Augsburg's splendor,

Nuremberg's wit,

Strasbourg's artillery,

and Ulm's money

rule the world.

Popular rhyme from XVII century

Häuslesbrucke over the river Blau, at the Fishermen's Quarter in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

"Many centuries ago, Ulm was surrounded by a very thick wall meant to protect the city from unwelcomed invaders. For the construction of their Cathedral, the residents wanted to bring in the city of Ulm, timber which was loaded in a wagon, which caused problems, because the gate was too small. The inhabitants of Ulm had already decided to demolish the gate to allow the passage of the wagon when they saw a bird fluttering around it and carrying, a long wisp of straw in the tip, to build the nest. As soon as the bird introduced the straw in a niche in the bell tower, the inhabitants of Ulm were hit by a flash of genius. They laid the beams along the cart, and thus saved the gate from demolition. To thank the bird, so they say, they placed, a monument in the shape of a sparrow on the roof of the Cathedral"

Legend from Ulm

Neutor Bridge over the railway tracks in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

Eisenbahnbrucke crossing the Danube River in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

“I knew I had reached an important landmark on my journey. For there, in the lee of the battlements, dark under the tumbling flakes and already discoloured with silt, flowed the Danube.”

To the city of Ulm in A Time of Gifts

Leigh Fermor