Ulm Minster (Ulmer Münster)

Ulm Minster stands in the centre of Ulm in Baden-Württemberg and holds the record for the tallest church steeple in the world at 161.5 metres. Construction began in 1377, funded by the city's guilds and merchants rather than a bishop, which made it one of the largest parish churches ever built by a town rather than the church. Work stalled in 1543 during the Reformation, when the building became a Lutheran church, and the steeple stood unfinished for over three centuries until construction resumed in the 19th century and was completed in 1890 following the original medieval plans. The interior preserves late Gothic choir stalls carved by Jörg Syrlin the Elder in the 1470s, depicting philosophers and prophets, along with stained glass windows dating from the 14th to 15th centuries and a Baroque organ. The nave's soaring vaulted ceiling and slender piers exemplify the Swabian Gothic style, while the exterior's lace-like stonework on the steeple reflects the 19th-century completion's fidelity to the original medieval design. Visitors can climb 768 steps to an observation platform near the spire's top for views over the Danube valley. Because the church survived the 1944 bombing of Ulm largely intact while much of the surrounding old town was destroyed, it holds particular significance as a surviving landmark amid post-war reconstruction. Interpretation on site follows the building chronologically from the 14th-century choir to the 19th-century steeple completion.