Ulm Minster

It’s interesting that by visiting so many places in a short time – for example, holidays taking in several destinations – one can forget some places altogether. Such is the case with Ulm: we stopped there overnight on our way home from a trip to Bavaria in October 2011, but despite the wonderful light in the minster, I remember absolutely nothing about being there.

I’m also unsure why I didn’t bother photographing the outside of the building, as it features the tallest church spire in the world.

The cathedral itself took a huge amount of time to build: the foundation stone was laid in 1377 but the cathedral was not completed until 1890. Construction was gradual until 1543, when a series of events (including the Reformation, the Thirty Years War and the War of Spanish Succession) halted progress. Building work resumed in 1817 and despite the fact that around 80% of the remaining city was flattened by bombs during the Second World War, the minster was largely unscathed.