Ulm is a city in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 (2006), forms an urban district of its own (German: Stadtkreis) and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and traditions as a former Free Imperial City (German: freie Reichsstadt). Today, it is an economic centre due to its varied industries, and it is the seat of a university (University of Ulm, founded in 1967). Internationally, Ulm is primarily known for the tallest church in the world, the Gothic minster (Ulm Minster, German: Ulmer Münster) and as the birthplace of Albert Einstein.

Geography
Ulm lies at the point where the rivers Blau and Iller join the Danube, at an altitude of 479 m (1,571.52 ft) above sea level. Most parts of the city, including the old town, are situated on the left bank of the Danube; only the districts of Wiblingen, Gögglingen, Donaustetten and Unterweiler lie on the right bank. Vis-à-vis of the old town, on the other side of the river, lies the twin city of Neu-Ulm in the state of Bavaria, smaller than Ulm and until 1810 a part of it (population ~50,000). Except for the Danube in the south, the city is surrounded by forests and hills which rise to altitudes of over 620 m (2,034.12 ft), some of them part of the Swabian Alb. South of the Danube, plains and hills finally end in the northern edge of the Alps, which is approximately 100 km from Ulm and is visible from the city on clear days.

The city is divided into eighteen districts (German: Stadtteile): Ulm-Mitte, Böfingen, Donaustetten, Donautal, Eggingen, Einsingen, Ermingen, Eselsberg, Gögglingen, Grimmelfingen, Jungingen, Lehr, Mähringen, Oststadt, Söflingen (mit Harthausen), Unterweiler, Weststadt, and Wiblingen.

Education and culture
The University of Ulm was founded in 1967 and focuses on the sciences, medicine, engineering, and mathematics / economics. With 7,246 students in 2005–06, it belongs to the smaller universities in Germany.

Ulm is also the seat of the city's University of Applied Sciences (German: Fachhochschule), founded in 1960 as a public school of engineering. The school also houses numerous students from the around the world as part of an international study abroad programme.

In 1953, Inge Aicher-Scholl, Otl Aicher and Max Bill founded the Ulm School of Design, (German: Hochschule für Gestaltung - HfG Ulm), a design school in the tradition of the Bauhaus, which was however closed in 1968.

Ulm's public library (Stadtbibliothek Ulm) features over 480,000 print media. The city has a public theatre with drama, opera and ballet, several small theatres, and a professional philharmonic orchestra.