Ulm Minster
For 135 years Ulm Minster had the tallest church tower in the world: 161.53 metres of Gothic stone, begun in 1377 and finished only in 1890. It was built by the citizens of a rich trading town, not by a bishop, and it has never been a cathedral. Inside is one of the great sets of medieval choir stalls in Europe. The church is free; the tower costs €9, and in 2026 you can climb it as far as the 102-metre gallery.
A church built by a town
On 30 June 1377 the burgomaster of Ulm, Ludwig Krafft, laid the foundation stone of a church big enough for the whole city, paid for by its own citizens. The Parler family of masons began the choir, and from 1392 Ulrich von Ensingen designed the great west tower and porch. The church was consecrated in 1405, still without its vaults, which were finished by 1471. When cracks appeared in the tower in the 1490s, Burkhard Engelberg strengthened the building and divided the aisles, leaving the church with five.
Ulm voted for the Reformation in 1530, and in 1531 the images and more than sixty altars were cleared out. Building stopped in 1543 with the tower at about 100 metres, and it stood unfinished for three centuries. Work began again in 1844, flying buttresses were added, and on 31 May 1890 the last stone was set on the spire: 513 years after the first. On 17 December 1944 bombing destroyed most of the old town around it, but the Minster survived.
The visitor’s cheat sheet
| Where | Münsterplatz, 89073 Ulm, in the middle of the old town; about a 10-minute walk from Ulm Hauptbahnhof |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | April–14 October 9am–6pm, Sundays 10.30am–5pm, after the morning service; 15 October–March 10am–5pm. No sightseeing during services and events |
| Admission | Free |
| Tower | €9, reduced €6, family €23, under-7s free. April–14 October 9am–5pm, 15 October–March 10am–4pm; the 102m gallery closes at 4pm. In 2026 open to the 102m gallery only; the 143m top is closed until 2027. No lift |
| Building work | A 42m scaffold has stood in the nave since early 2026, in front of the Last Judgement over the chancel arch; it may stay for several years |
| Tours | Public, group and Bauhütte (masons’ workshop) tours, mostly in German; book online. The tourist office’s city tour includes the Minster |
| Facilities | No toilets, cloakroom or luggage storage; toilets in the Stadthaus on the square. No dogs |
| How long | About an hour in the church; add an hour or more for the tower |
Hours and admission checked against the official site in October 2026. They change; the official site is always the last word.
Know what is open before you go. In 2026 the tower climb stops at the 102-metre gallery, and the 70-metre level has a restricted view because of building work. The 143-metre top platform, 768 steps up, is due to reopen in 2027. Inside, a 42-metre scaffold fills part of the nave in front of the Last Judgement over the chancel arch. The choir stalls, pulpit and sacrament house can still be seen.
What to see, in the order you meet it
The west porch and the Man of Sorrows
You enter beneath the tower through a porch of three arches. Over the doors the tympanum of the 1380s shows the Creation. On the central pillar stands Christ as the Man of Sorrows, carved by Hans Multscher and given in 1429; the figure outside is a copy, and the original is inside the church, at the south-west pillar of the choir.
The nave
The nave is over 41 metres high and about 124 metres long, built for a congregation of some 20,000. Its Protestant whiteness is the result of the Reformation clear-out. In 2026 part of it is filled by a scaffold more than 100 tonnes in weight, put up after plaster fell from the ceiling in 2023; the work on the ceiling and the clerestory windows may take years.
The pulpit and the sacrament house
The pulpit is crowned by a carved wooden canopy, a forest of pinnacles by Jörg Syrlin the Younger, made in 1510. By the chancel arch, the sacrament house rises about 26 metres in carved stone, made in 1467–71. Above the arch is the Last Judgement of 1471, about 145 square metres of painting, now partly obscured by the scaffolding.
The choir stalls
The finest things in the Minster are the oak choir stalls carved by Jörg Syrlin the Elder between 1469 and 1474. Along the top, busts face each other across the choir: prophets and apostles, and, unusually, sibyls and the sages of pagan antiquity such as Cicero, Ptolemy, Seneca and Pythagoras, with women on one side and men on the other. Behind the high altar, the choir windows keep glass of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
The Besserer Chapel
Beside the choir, the small Besserer Chapel keeps stained glass of about 1430 by Hans Acker, telling the story from the Creation to the Last Judgement. It is some of the finest medieval glass in the Minster. Most of the nave and aisle windows are plain: their nineteenth-century glass was lost in 1944, and several were replaced after the war.
The tower
The climb is by stone spiral stairs only. The first gallery, at 70 metres, is 392 steps up; the gallery at 102 metres is over 500. On very clear days you can see the Alps. When the top platform reopens, the full climb will again be 768 steps to 143 metres.
Tickets and tours
Tower tickets and tours
Tower tickets are sold online through the Minster’s webshop, at a card-only machine at the tower entrance, and in the Münstershop to the right of the main portal. The UlmCard includes the tower. The Minster’s own tours, including visits to the Bauhütte, the masons’ workshop, are mostly in German; the tourist office runs a city walk that includes a visit to the Minster, in English on some summer weekends.
The hotel link goes to Booking.com. This site earns nothing from it at present — it is here because it is the quickest way to check what is actually available.
Don’t miss
- The choir stalls Syrlin’s sibyls and philosophers, 1469–74.
- The Man of Sorrows Multscher’s original, at the south-west pillar of the choir.
- The pulpit canopy A carved Gothic spire in wood.
- The sacrament house About 26 metres of carved stone by the chancel arch.
- The Besserer Chapel Medieval glass of about 1430.
- The tower To the 102-metre gallery in 2026.
Insider tips
Go to the toilet first, and leave big bags at the hotel. The Minster has no toilets, no cloakroom and no left luggage. Use the Stadthaus on the square, which also shows a live stream of the view from the tower for anyone who cannot climb.
From about May to early October, and again in Advent, the “Punkt 12” organ devotion fills the church for half an hour at noon from Tuesday to Sunday; it is free, with a collection at the door. In icy weather the upper gallery closes, so check before climbing in winter.
Look up at the roof ridge for the Ulm sparrow. The legend says the medieval builders could not get a long beam through the city gate until they saw a sparrow carry a straw lengthways into its nest.
The old Fishermen’s Quarter, with its half-timbered houses over the little River Blau and the leaning Schiefes Haus, is a few minutes’ walk south. Ulm is about 45 minutes from Stuttgart by ICE, and a little over an hour from Munich.
Common questions
Is Ulm Minster free to enter?
Yes, the church itself is free. You pay only for the tower (adults €9, reduced €6, family €23, under-7s free), for guided tours and for concerts.
Can I climb to the top of Ulm Minster?
Not to the very top at present. The full climb is 768 steps to the platform at 143 metres, but in 2026 the highest level open is the gallery at 102 metres, while the stairs above are renewed. The top is due to reopen for the 650th anniversary in 2027.
Is Ulm Minster still the tallest church in the world?
No. At 161.53 metres it held the record from 1890 until late October 2025, when the Sagrada Família in Barcelona overtook it. It is still the tallest church tower in Germany.
What are the opening hours of Ulm Minster?
The church is open from April to 14 October 9am to 6pm, and from 15 October to March 10am to 5pm; on summer Sundays it opens at 10.30am and closes at 5pm. The tower is open 9am to 5pm in summer and 10am to 4pm in winter, but the 102-metre gallery closes at 4pm. There is no sightseeing during services.
Is Ulm Minster a cathedral?
No. It has never been the seat of a bishop, which is why it is called a minster. It has been a Lutheran church since the Reformation of 1530–31 and is often described as the largest Protestant church in Germany.
Are there toilets at Ulm Minster?
No, and there is no cloakroom or luggage storage either. The nearest public toilets are in the Stadthaus, the white building on the Münsterplatz.
Where to stay and eat nearby
The Minster stands on a wide square in the centre of Ulm, with cafés along its edges and the Fishermen’s Quarter and the Danube close by. Ulm is small enough to see in a day, and an easy stop on the line between Stuttgart and Munich.
More churches in Germany
- Cologne Cathedral — the other giant Gothic tower, finished just ten years earlier, in 1880.
- Berlin Cathedral — the Protestant cathedral of the Hohenzollerns.
- The Sagrada Família — which took Ulm’s record in 2025.