Sometimes foggy in winter, but therefore even more lovely in summer, and with 120,000 inhabitants it is just the right size to feel quickly at home. That's Ulm.Numerous cultural and leisure activities are on offer, in a compact area.Ulm has it all – from hip-hop concerts, theater performances, pubs and live basketball games.And best of all, if you live close to the city center, nearly all the event locations can be reached comfortably on foot.Thanks to the excellent public transport network, even students who live in the suburbs are able to enjoy the nightlife in Ulm.
The two central elements of the city geography are the Danube – which separates Ulm from its sister city Neu-Ulm and also connects the city with the culture of the Danube region – and the famous Ulm Minster, with the highest church tower in the world.However, even native citizens of Ulm only climb it on special occasions, for example, when they have visitors.
You can get a good first impression of student life in Ulm by watching the City of Ulm's film:
The following Link is going to play an external Video on youtube.com (embedding with extended data privacy).
Guided City Tours
In your first semester, you can go on a city tour for free.
You need to register in advance directly with the Tourist Information Office and show them your student ID card:
Tourist Information Ulm/Neu-Ulm
www.tourismus.ulm.de
Münsterplatz 50, 89073 Ulm
Telephone: +49 731 161 2830
e-mail: info@tourismus.ulm.de
We wish you a great time exploring the city!
Culture
"Oath Monday" (Schwörmontag) is Ulm's unofficial public holiday. The Mayor of Ulm publicly swears to uphold the town constitution, a tradition dating back to the "Great Civic Oath" of 1397. This is still celebrated in great style today.Particularly popular on this day is the "Nabada", where thousands of participants take their rubber dinghies, lilos or home-built craft onto the Danube to float – or "nabaden" – down the river.
Another favorite is the International Danube Festival which takes place every two years.For ten days there is lively hustle and bustle on both banks of the river. International artists and visitors to the festival come together for encounters with people from countries all along the River Danube.The international cultural program offers a diverse mixture – music, dance, literature and exhibitions.Every year, during Advent, the traditional Christmas market is held on the Münsterplatz in Ulm.The 130 stalls give the heart of Ulm a really Christmassy atmosphere for four weeks.
Friends of high culture will find their spiritual home in the Ulm Theater.The oldest civic theater in Germany offers classical and modern productions in three types of performing arts – opera, acting and ballet.The City of Ulm Philharmonic Orchestra can also be heard here regularly.In the Ulm Museum you can see the "Lion Man", carved from mammoth ivory. This is one of the very oldest human-animal-shaped sculptures in the world.Modern art aficionados will be drawn to the Weishaupt Art Gallery in the Neue Mitte, with works by Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.There are also cultural projects at Ulm University of Applied Sciences – such as the university choir or the university orchestra – where participation is expressly welcomed.
Leisure
Typical "student parties" are on Wednesday nights at "Frau Berger" or Thursday nights at "Myers".For the the rest of the time, you will find numerous pubs, bars and clubs in the city center – in the picturesque "Fischerviertel" and around the Münsterplatz.
For live performance lovers, in the summer the six-week "Ulmer Zelt" festival in the Friedrichsau offers cabaret and live music.
For over 25 years, the "Roxy" has been the place to go for the alternative scene in Ulm.Large concerts and shows are held in the Ratiopharm Arena in Neu-Ulm.The "Ulm Students' Alternative for University Life and Culture" (originally the Independent Students' Committee) operates three event locations – "Sauschdall", "CAT" and "Studentencafé" – as a not-for-profit organization. These are located in the old fort walls, very close to the university of applied sciences.
As well as the "Xinedome" in Ulm and the "Dietrich Theater" in Neu-Ulm, the UniKino at Ulm University offers great cinema for small prices.Every Tuesday and alternate Wednesdays (in English) and Thursdays you can enjoy sophisticated, classic and exotic films with your fellow students, in an unconventional ambiance in the lecture theater, with a big screen and surround sound.Snacks and drinks are on offer at cost price.
Sport
The River Danube, which separates Ulm from Neu-Ulm, enables joggers, rollerbladers, rowers and other sport lovers to practice their sport directly next to or on the Danube.A very special event is the annual Einstein Marathon which runs through the whole of Ulm.Thanks to Ulm's excellent location between Stuttgart and Lake Constance, if sports are your hobby there are many more options: skiing in the Alps, cross-country skiing on the Swabian Alb, hiking in the Allgäu or sailing and windsurfing on Lake Constance.
ratiopharm ulm plays in the plays in the first division of the national basketball league. This generates great interest locally – both in Ulm/Neu-Ulm and in the wider region.As the largest sports club in the city, SSV Ulm 1846 is the home of many recreational and elite athletes.For students, the University Sports Club offers the chance to do a lot of training without having to pay much money.
