Ulm Part III: A slow walk around the Old Town

After visiting the Ulm Minster, we decided to do what I think is the best way to experience a German town: walk. Without a strict plan or a rush from A to B, we just wandered around allowing the town to reveal itself.

There’s one thing I absolutely adore about Germany. The places are so walkable! Ulm is compact, but it’s charming in so many ways. With just a walk to these spots, you can cover them all. There are no confusing bus routes and metro maps. You can travel just on foot through narrow cobblestone streets, boxed in with history. Honestly, this makes me like Germany more than I already do.

Wandering into Ulm’s Old Town

Like other cities in Germany, Ulm has a proper old town with narrow lanes, half-timbered houses and streets that look like they are out of a painting. We didn't technically decide to check it out, it just seemed to happen as we went for a walk and followed whatever looked pretty (which, in Ulm, is… everything).

We eventually ended up next to the Blau River. The river passes through the famous Fishermen’s Quarter of Ulm, which is known locally as 'Fischerviertel'.

Above the river was a charming stone bridge, reflections of the colorful houses rippling in the water. However, it was not the bridge or the houses that caught my attention but a big old water wheel.

The water wheel instantly piqued my curiosity, so I had to google it right then and there. The water wheels were highly significant for Ulm during the Medieval times.
Ulm relied on tanning, grain milling, sawmills and various workshops for industry back in the day. The river’s flow used to turn wheels so that power could be generated, i.e very eco-friendly. The mills and workshops operated on this power, making the town rich in its day. We don’t need electricity bills or fossil fuels; water can do it.

Today, most of these wheels aren’t functional anymore, but a few have been carefully preserved as part of Ulm’s heritage. I loved that Ulm didn’t just erase these old structures in the name of modernity.

The Crooked Star of Ulm: Schiefes Haus

After walking a few feet, we found perhaps Ulm’s most famous (and honest to god most interesting) building the 'Schiefes Haus', otherwise known as the Crooked House.

You wouldn’t think, "Wow, that building is leaning dangerously", at first glance. It is not very discernible in pictures, but in real life? The tilt is indeed very apparent. Your mind does a small double take as it wonders how gravity is so confidently ignored.

This building, which was built back in the 1400s, was merely a house back in the day. It was constructed on solid ground above the Blau River, with one side resting on it while the other side is built on wooden stilts. For over 500 years the river side of the house sank down more than the land side, causing a tilt of the house toward the river.

Just out of curiosity , I decided to look up crooked it is. Well, the angle is approximately 9-10 degrees. For reference, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is tilted at about 4 degrees. This house is just casually leaning twice as much as Pisa and not even trying to brag about it.

The cherry on top is that you can actually stay in this place. The building was restored in the 1990s and turned into a functional hotel. It’s safe (no one rolls out of bed in the middle of the night, apparently), but they left it crooked on purpose because, well, that’s the whole charm!.

The Leaning Tower of Ulm (and My Favorite Legend)

Just when I think that Ulm has gotten the leaning architecture craze out of their system, another leaning structure pops up in front of me. Behold, the Butchers' Tower or the 'Metzgerturm'. This tower was built in the mid-1300s and was originally used as a city gate and watchtower to protect the city of Ulm.

And, of course, this tower also leans.

Just like the Schiefes Haus, this tower was built on wooden supports that were driven into the wet soil of the river valley. Over time, water damage and rotting wood caused the tower to sink on one side more than the other.

Apart from boring science, Ulm has a much more interesting legend for this tower's leaning. It seems that some overweight butchers were once locked in this tower for selling sausages filled with sawdust (a crime punishable by death, in my opinion). When the mayor of Ulm arrived to punish these nefarious butchers, all of the fat butchers, in a state of panic, cowered in one corner of the tower and caused it to tilt forever.

Is this explanation scientifically accurate? No way.
Do I choose to believe it anyway? Absolutely yes.

From now on, in my head, the Leaning Tower of Ulm exists solely because of corrupt, scared, sausage-selling butchers.

Ulm’s Absolutely Stunning City Hall

Next up was one of my favorite sights of the day, the 'Ulmer Rathaus', or Ulm City Hall. And wow. Just… wow.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most visually impressive city halls in Germany. I would know, because Ive seen a few and they aren't anything special. But this one?? The whole thing is covered in beautiful Renaissance murals, colorful, detailed, and impossible to ignore.

There’s also an incredible astronomical clock installed in the early 1500s. It doesn’t just have the time,it also displays the phases of the moon, as well as the position of the sun in the zodiac.

Like much of Ulm, the Rathaus was heavily damaged in World War II, but it’s since been restored. Standing there, it’s almost like it’s serving as a reminder of the damage, but also of the beauty that can come out of restoration.

A Quirky Einstein Moment

Before concluding our walk, we stumbled upon a quirky statue commemorating Albert Einstein. Ulm happens to be the birthplace of this genius, and the locals are quite proud of this fact.

The statue we encountered was not the usual dignified type. Instead, it featured the face of the playful version of Einstein (with the tongue sticking out, naturally!) attached to what seems to be a rocket ship. his statue seems to epitomize the quirky genius that Einstein has come to represent.

While there are more dignified commemorations of Einstein in Ulm that I did not have a chance to visit, I must say that I quite enjoyed the casual encounter with the genius that I had here.

I went to Ulm solely for the Minster, but I left with leaning buildings, fun folklore, and gorgeous architecture. If you ever find yourself in southern Germany with a free day, Ulm is absolutely worth slowing down for. Just walk. Trust the streets. And maybe believe a few ridiculous legends along the way. 😊