Ulm Cathedral: the tallest church in the world

The tower of the Cathedral of Ulm, Germany, is a special case because the tower is the tallest church in the world, with which great views are guaranteed.

If you have enough leg strength to climb the 768 steps you will reach the maximum height, about 150 meters from the street level. However, the tower is a little more: up to 161.53 m. With that data, the church gets to have the title ” the world’s tallest cathedral “. It was started in the XIV century  in Gothic style but was not finished until the nineteenth century. Although it was planned as a Catholic church after the Reformation of Luther in 1529 became a Lutheran church.

And behind such a tower is an interesting story.

In 1376 Emperor Charles IV made a visit to the city of Ulm. Using his “real gains” he forbid citizens of this prosperous city of merchants, access to “their” church which was outside its walls. People from Ulm was not intimidated and decided to build a church in the city.  And not just something simple, but mainly to beat their arch “rivals” of the city of Cologne (who competed in trade routes and social prestige), decided that the new church was a little higher than the Cologne Cathedral.

The project was too ambitious for a very large population, but feasible given its economic potential and its inhabitants were known as “big-headed”.  The mayor first threw coins in stone covered with a hundred gold florins out of his own pocket , and was imitated by the representatives of bourgeois families of Ulm, by wealthy merchants and the common people who threw gold coins and silver on that stone to demonstrate the richness of Ulm. This has continued the work force donations. Each time you earn a route, or economic achievement brought more wealth to the people, are rushing new additions and decorations and Lutheran church. And so on, until the last stone was laid in 1890.

The climb up a spiral staircase, will test your fitness but also give you some amazing views both inside and outside through openings in its variegated architecture.