%crThe City Theater and other Ulm, Germany Things to Do Tips

1. Ulm City Theater

This is another one of those small city theaters in Germany which were collectively awarded the title Opera House of the Year by the critics of Opernwelt magazine for the year 2004.

Okay, you can't expect to see any big-name opera stars here, and you won't get the really stunning new productions like the ones in Stuttgart or Frankfurt, but they do have their own opera and drama ensembles, and they provide a substantial schedule of operas, musicals, plays and ballets for over ten months of every year.

The Ulm City Theater was where the famous conductor Herbert von Karajan got his start as a young man, so the square in front of the theater is now named after him.

Second photo: The current building is a replacement for an older one that was destroyed during the Second World War.

Third photo: Entrance hall of the Ulm City Theater.

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Phone: +49 (0)731/161-4500
Address: Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz 1, 89073 Ulm
Website: http://theater.ulm.de/index.php

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Things To Do: In the theater

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Written by Nemorino

on Feb 19, 2007

1. Intermission at the Ulm City

Theater

This theater was built in the years 1966 to 1969. The large hall seats up to 840 people. There is a also a "Podium" hall for smaller productions, seating up to 200.

Second photo: In the large hall before the premiere of Aida.

Third photo: The large hall as seen from the balcony.

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Phone: +49 (0)731/161-4500
Address: Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz 1, 89073 Ulm
Website: http://www.tourismus.ulm.de/arts_detail_e.dpx?art_id=14&lang=_e

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Things To Do: Ulm Minster

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Updated by Nemorino

on Feb 24, 2007

1. Ulm Minster

by Nemorino , 1 more photos

This protestant church was built starting in 1377 and is said to have the world's highest church steeple, measuring 161.53 meters from the bottom to the top.

Thanks to VT member Mariajoy for asking if this was really the world's tallest steeple, and wondering who had done the research. Well, when I was in Ulm I actually just took their word for it, but it turns out that Guinness World Records is one source of this claim. Also Ulm is first on the Wikipedia list of the tallest churches. Lincoln (England) would be second if their spire hadn't collapsed in 1549.

Actually Ulm's claim to fame may be short-lived, because if the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is finished on schedule by the year 2026, then it will be the tallest.

Second photo: The steeple of Ulm Minster.

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Things To Do: The Danube River

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Written by Nemorino

on Feb 19, 2007

1. The Danube River

by Nemorino , 3 more photos

Here in Ulm is where the Danube (known in German as the Donau) starts to be navigable for river boats. Above Ulm you would have to have a canoe or kayak, but even then you might have to get out and wade in some places where the water is low (at least we did on our canoe trip in 1962).

There are now several dams along the Danube between Ulm and Regensburg, so it's more a series of lakes than a river.

The Danube is the boundary between the cities of Ulm, in Baden-Württemberg, and Neu-Ulm, in Bavaria, which means that the school children in Ulm have different vacations than their friends across the bridge in Neu-Ulm.

Second photo: There is a small ferry boat crossing the Danube from Ulm to Neu-Ulm, in addition to several bridges.

Third photo: Excursions are offered from May to October on this river boat, the MS Donau.

Fourth photo: Sign advertising the river boat excursions.

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Things To Do: Central Library

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Written by Nemorino

on Feb 19, 2007

1. The central library in Ulm

The new Central Library in Ulm was opened in May 2004. It is on the Marktplatz (Market Square) near the City Hall.

The facade is made almost entirely of double glass walls, and the roof is in the shape of a pyramid with a height of more than 36 meters. On the fifth floor there is a readers' cafeteria with views of the city roofs and the Ulm Minster.

The building is cooled in the summer and warmed in the winter by a modern fuel-saving ventilation system.

Second photo: The Central Library and the Town Hall.

Third photo: Entrance to the Central Library.

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Phone: 0731 161-4140
Address: Vestgasse 1, 89073 Ulm
Website: http://www.ulm.de/kultur_tourismus/bibliotheken_und_literatur/stadtbibliothek.30713.3076,3963,3669,30713.htm

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Things To Do: Keppler in Ulm

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Written by Nemorino

on Feb 19, 2007

1. Johannes Keppler plaque

by Nemorino , 1 more photos

This plaque on the Ulm City Hall commemorates the astronomer Johannes Keppler (1571-1630), who moved to Ulm in 1626 and lived here for two years.

During this time he published his "Rudolphine Tables", which formed the basis of practical astronomy for the next hundred years.

Today there are 13 people named Keppler in the Ulm telephone book.

Second photo: The City Hall, Marktplatz 1.

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Address: Rathaus, Marktplatz 1, 89073 Ulm
Website: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/JUN_KHA/KEPLER_JOHANN_1571_1630_.html

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Things To Do: Einstein in Ulm

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Written by Nemorino

on Feb 19, 2007

1. Einstein was born here

by Nemorino , 1 more photos

This inconspicuous monument is supposed to represent the apartment building where the physicist Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879.

The building was quite new at the time, since it was erected in 1871. It was destroyed by bombs during the Second World War, in December 1944.

Einstein only lived here for a year and a half, after which his family moved to Munich. It is unclear if he ever returned to Ulm after that, but if he did it was only for brief visits.

In the 1929, on the occasion of Einstein's 50th birthday, the city of Ulm named a street after him. Einstein was somewhat amused by this, and wrote to the mayor: "I have already heard about the street named after me. My comforting thought was that I am not responsible for whatever is going to happen there." When the Nazis came to power they re-named the street because Einstein was Jewish, and after the war in 1945 the city changed it back again.

For Einstein's 125th birthday the city of Ulm commissioned an Austrian composer named Dirk D'Ase (born 1960) to write an opera called Einstein in Amerika, which was first performed at the Ulm City Theater on March 18, 2004.

The Adult Education Center (VHS) in Ulm is in a building called the Einstein House.

Today there is nobody named Einstein in the Ulm telephone book.

Second photo: In 2005 several temporary tin-can monuments were set up in Ulm to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's theory of Special Relativity. But the main purpose of these tin cans seems to have been to advertise local solar energy projects, and the connection to Einstein was tenuous at best.

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Website: http://www.dirkdase.com/files/einstein.htm

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Things To Do: Fishermen's and tanners' district

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Written by Nemorino

on Feb 19, 2007

1. Fishermen's and tanners'

district

This attractive district is located between the Minster and the river. It has narrow streets and historic half-timbered houses, as well as hotels, restaurants, cafés and galleries.

Second photo: Fischerplatz, with the Minster steeple visible in the background.

Third photo: Café by the Crooked House.

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Website: http://www.fischauge-ulm.de/fischerviertel/fischerviertel.php

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Things To Do: The Butcher and the Farmer

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Updated by Nemorino

on Mar 3, 2007

The Butcher and the Farmer

by Nemorino