ULM
History

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As the imperial city of Ulm had its most important position during the Middle Ages many historical dates, buildings or famous citizens are related to this period. Symbols for the more recent history are Albert Einstein, who was born in Ulm, the legendary "Tailor of Ulm" as a pioneer of aviation or the university with the "science park".

Neu-Ulm is a young town and its territory was once used as a gardening ground by the citizens of Ulm. In the 19th century Neu-Ulm could develop as a Bavarian town of its own.

From the 14th Century onwards and became a leading centre for the arts and commerce. As it still does today, the city lay at the intersection of European long distance overland routes and that led to its development into a trading metropolis. This economic strength was matched by its political power but both fell away as a result of the Thirty Years' War and the Wars of the Spanish Succession. Finally, Ulm lost its imperial status in 1802 when Napoleon annexed this territory to Bavaria. If Ulm had been for hundreds of years a bastion of political and economic significance, between the years 1842 and 1859 the expression took on a purely military meaning.

Ulm became one of the garrison towns in the German Confederation and is still Europe's largest remaining 19th Century garrison town. The pioneer spirit of the people of Ulm/Neu-Ulm has survived till modern times. An embodiment of this spirit was Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger ("The Tailor of Ulm") who, in 1811, made the first serious attempt to fly with his hang glider. Then there is Albert Einstein, born in Ulm in 1879 and the Neu-Ulmer, Hermann Köhl, who, in 1928, became the first man to fly the North Atlantic, east to west .