ULM, a frontier and fortified town of Württemberg, on the border of Bavaria, on the left bank of the Danube, which here receives the Blau, in a rich and beautiful region at the foot of the Swabian Alps, 45 miles S.S.E. of Stuttgart. The Danube is here about 200 feet broad and 12 deep; it is crossed by two bridges to the Bavarian village of New Ulm; and over the Blau, which traverses the town, there are five bridges. The town is oval in form; and has the usual appearance of old German towns, with narrow irregular streets, and quaint old wooden houses. The principal building is the cathedral, one of the largest and finest of German churches, begun in 1377 and completed in 1494. The spire, which was intended to be raised to 475 feet, is only 337 in height; and the interior dimensions are as follows:—length, 485 feet; breadth, 205; height of the choir, 130. It is a fine specimen of ancient Gothic art, and contains one of the finest organs in Germany, and many curious old paintings, carvings, and stained glass. From the summit of the spire a fine view is obtained over Swabia and Bavaria, and in clear weather as far as the Alps. This cathedral now belongs to the Lutherans; and there are here two other Lutheran and two Roman Catholic churches. The town-hall of Ulm is an old and spacious but by no means handsome building. In front of it, in the market-place, is a fine fountain adorned with statues.
The German House, containing the chief public offices, is one of the finest buildings in the town. Ulm has also a theatre, gymnasium, library, museum, hospital, and other benevolent institutions. The manufacture of tobacco, snuff, pipe-bowls, playing-cards, porcelain, linen, and silk fabrics, &c., is carried on here; and there is a very extensive trade. The town is connected by railway with Stuttgart and Munich. Ulm was formerly an imperial free town, strongly fortified, and an important military position; but in 1805 General Mack, with a garrison of 12,000 Austrian troops, being enclosed on all sides by the enemy, capitulated to Napoleon without firing a shot, and the fortifications were then nearly all demolished. They remained in that condition till 1842; when they were restored under the direction of Prussian engineers at the expense of the German Confederation. Ulm is thus again a first-class fortress, and is garrisoned by 5000 Bavarian and Württemberg troops, with 300 Austrian artillery. Pop. (1855) 21,076.