Ulm in the 16th Century

Samuel Kiechel’s hometown, Ulm, is in the southwest of modern Germany. The city is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Albert Einstein and for the Ulm Minster, a Gothic church with the tallest church tower in the world. Our traveller, on the other hand, is mostly unknown. The Kiechelhaus is what remains of the family. Samuel’s father bought the house in 1583. His older brother Daniel inherited it in 1599 and rebuilt it. Today, the Kiechelhaus is part of the Museum Ulm.

The above view of Ulm from the sixteenth century shows a city exuding wealth and power. Sturdy walls and a moat protect the houses within them. Around Ulm are orchards, gardens and small fields. The majestic Ulm Minster dominates the view. Its construction had not been financed by the church but by the citizens. Despite its size, the Ulm Minster is a church, not a cathedral.

A part of Ulm had been destroyed during World War II, but there are still some sights that existed in the sixteenth century that you can still visit today, like the Ulm Minster, town hall and Gänsturm.

When Samuel Kiechel left Ulm in 1585, the city had already passed its peak. In the fifteenth century, Ulm had been one of the wealthiest places in Germany. The city’s domain outside its walls included three towns and fifty-five villages. Ulm’s citizens could afford to pay for the construction of their majestic minster.

Ulm became a member of the Schmalkaldic League in 1531. The League was a defensive alliance of Protestant princes and free cities against the Catholic Emperor Charles V’s attempts to restore religious unity. The political conflict escalated into a military confrontation in 1546 (Schmalkaldic War 1546/1547). In the war, thirty-five of the villages in Ulm’s territorial domain were sacked or burned down. The city struggled to fund the war because of the loss of income from its domain, and the disrupted trade caused by the conflict. In 1546, Ulm surrendered to Charles.

In the aftermath of the surrender, the city had to sign a peace treaty with the Emperor. Ulm had to pay compensation, and the city’s guilds were abolished. The guilds posed a particular concern to Charles V, as they held political power and were considered a hotbed of Protestantism. Charles changed the municipal constitution and handed control of Ulm to the city’s patricians. Despite this, Ulm remained a Protestant city, and ten years later, the guilds were permitted to be re-established.

In the second half of the sixteenth century, Ulm had recovered economically, though it did not return to its previous level of prosperity. Nevertheless, the trade in textiles flourished enough for families like the Kiechels to prosper and finance their sons’ long journey.

River Transport

In the sixteenth century, transport options were limited. Wealthy travellers often had their coach or horse; poor people tended to walk or hitch a ride in the back of a cart. However, road conditions were poor, which Kiechel regularly pointed out in his journal. Paved roads were expensive to construct and maintain. Most roads were dirt tracks that quickly became mires in wet weather.