The Interior of Ulmer Münster by Kakapo2
The highlights of the cathedral are the late Gothic pulpit, the wooden choir stalls which are beautifully carved (by Jörg Syrlin dem Älteren) and the altar in the choir. The choir stalls show, among others, Claudius Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Vergil, and several Sibyl figures.
A very special treasure is the Foundation Stone Relief (click on the link to read the story behind it).
The cast-iron mosaic windows in the choir are of outstanding beauty, but even surpassed by the windows of the so called Bessererkapelle south of (so: behind) the choir. They are from 1430 and show five eight-piece sequences of scenes from the Old and New Testament.
The organ has 98 registers and 8900 pipes.
I especially like ? beside the Foundation Relief ? the frescos on the wall to the choir.
The church also has some impressive bells. Gloriosa is the biggest and heaviest one. It was cast in 1956 in Stuttgart, and weighs 4912 kilos. It has the deepest sound when all the bells are ringing.
Every year at 7.15pm on 17 December the Gloriosa is rung for 15 minutes as a reminder of the bombardment of Ulm in 1944.
Until 1953 the bells were rung by hand, since then it has been done mechanically.
Admission to the Münster is free. You only have to pay a fee for climbing the spire.
No visits during mass and concerts.
Opening hours:
Jan/Feb/Nov/Dec 9am ? 4.45pm (until 6.45 during the Christmas Market)
Mar/Oct 9am ? 5.45pm
Apr/May/June/Sep 9am ? 6.45pm
July/Aug 9am ? 7.45pm
Entry to the spire from 9am until one hour before the church is closed.