Ulm Sparrow

“Ulmer Spatz”: the original from 1858 of the cathedral roof is now in the Ulm Minster near the entrance in a showcase

"Ulmer Spatz" on the cathedral roof (2013)

The Ulm Sparrow is a landmark in Ulm .

A “Ulmer Spatz” as a pictogram on the official sign of the Iller cycle path

The forecast for are the Ulmer in the construction of the cathedral have carted a particularly large beams. But they did not manage to get him through the city gate . When they were about to tear down the gate, they saw a sparrow with a twig in its beak to build it into its nest. And this sparrow flew through the gate with the branch. Then the people from Ulm saw a light too, and they laid the beam lengthways on their carts and not across, as before.

This legend cannot be traced before the second quarter of the 19th century.

The story of the Ulm sparrow

Yesteryear many years ago
Is the Ulm, and the following happened:
For all kinds of buildings in the city
Man tooling and timber has necessary ',
but want it to people not succeed
The bars through the gate to bring in,
And yet maturely property,' considering
the wood in put the cross on the wagon;
The gate was too narrow, the beams too long,
the city architect was frightened and afraid.

There was a lot to talk about:
And a tremendous headache,
Yes, even the high magistrate
didn't know what to do in this case,
He liked to look into all the books,
The case was not planned anywhere,
The mayor himself was
at a loss for once.
He, who knows everything best,
made the matter extremely hot.

And every hour the embarrassment grew,
Then - there came an incident of
the cleverest one who looks
at a spaetzle, which builds its nest at the top of the tower,
and a stalk that has laid itself in
front of its
nest with its little beaks - and That wasn't stupid. Turning
the tip to the nest,
“You could do that”, the man shouts with a laugh,
“ You can do that with the beam at the gate!”.

You tried it and it worked. - The people of
Ulm had to thank the spaetzle for their good thoughts :
They would probably still be standing today at the gate
with the beam-laden wagon in front of it,
or, without the spaetzlein's knowledge,
Gar would have had to sell the tower for demolition.
As a thank you to the sparrow, you can still see his picture carved in stone from
Hoch am Münster :
Even since the real Ulm child's
favorite dish has been “ Spätzle ”.

Carl Hertzog, 1842

Origin of the legend

The “sparrow” on the main aisle of Ulm Minster actually has a straw in its beak. However, it is actually a dove donated by wealthy citizens of Ulm (with an olive branch in its beak, compare the biblical story of Noah's Ark ). The pigeon is a bit small. From a distance you cannot see that it is supposed to be a pigeon at all. Even the olive branch can only be seen if you climb the tower of the minster. From this - according to a common and entirely credible theory - the story of the Ulm Sparrow arose: the much too small pigeon on the great cathedral became a mocking sparrow. In the course of time, the story came about why the people of Ulm probably put a monument to a sparrow on their cathedral.

The bird figure on the cathedral

The “Ulmer Spatz” was made from sandstone under the minster builder Ferdinand Thrän and installed on the nave of the minster in 1858. This was removed in 1888 and replaced by a copper and gilded sparrow in 1889. The original from 1858 is now in a showcase in Ulm Minster near the entrance on the south wall.

In 1854 the original bird on the cathedral roof was removed because it was dilapidated. However, this probably did not represent a sparrow, but rather resembled a parrot. According to the chronicle of the Ulm shoemaker Sebastian Fischer from 1550, for which he made a drawing of the bird, the figure should indicate the center of the city:

"Weytter, it was credibly indicated to me that the staine large Fogel on the Langkmeinster [nave of the minster] was the means of the place, but I know there is no reason, so sunder has been suggested to me."

The Ulm sparrow as namesake

"Ulmer Spatz" rail bus

A "lye sparrow"

The following are also known as Ulm Sparrows:

A rail bus of the DB Uerdinger rail bus series , which ran from Ulm on the weekend up to 2014 via the Danube Valley Railway and the Swabian Alb Railway to the Swabian Alb
a restored nostalgic passenger ship that takes boat tours on the Danube near Ulm
a trademark for products for the production of bread and roll specialties
the asteroid (8345) Ulm Sparrow discovered in 1987

"Ulmer Spatzen" is also

a name for the members of the Ulmer Spatzen Choir
a nickname for the footballers of SSV Ulm 1846
a nickname for the residents of Ulm. At the traditional " Nabada " on the Danube on Schwörmontag the battle cry sounds in Ulm "Ulm Spatza, Wasserratza, hoi, hoi, hoi!"

"Ulmer pretzel sparrows" are pretzels made from a knot of dough with a suggested sparrow shape.

Art campaign "Sparrow Invasion"

In 2001, a charity art campaign called "Spatzeninvasion" was started to preserve the southern cathedral tower. 275 sparrow blanks were designed by artists and other people and placed all over the city. At the end of the campaign, almost all of the sparrows were auctioned off; some remained the property of the clients and donors. More than 350,000 euros were raised at the auction for the benefit of the renovation of the south tower.

If you walk carefully through Ulm, you will still be able to find remnants of the Ulm Sparrow Invasion in some places, including at the visitor gate of the EADS location and at the “Ulmer Spatz” hotel and restaurant near the cathedral. Some examples: