The small German town of Ulm with a population of 120 thousand people, located on the Danube, in southern Germany, is famous for its history. It is considered one of the most ancient cities in Europe, exists since 854. This city has the world's tallest oldest Lutheran cathedral, the spire of the bell tower of which has ascended 161 meters.
At the end of the XIV century, in Ulm, which already had 10 thousand citizens, it was decided to build a huge Gothic cathedral, as it is called in Germany - Munster, which was not found in any European capital city. Money for its creation was given by private individuals. On June 30, 1397, the mayor of the city of Ludwig Kraft laid the foundation of the cathedral.
The building was built very quickly and by 1405 the main part of Münster was completed without a bell tower. But then the trouble started. The architects did not calculate the severity of the vaults, approaching a height of almost 100 meters, the naves shook, and the entire structure almost collapsed. This would lead to the destruction of the beautiful market square, the magistrate, the nearest houses. It would be a universal scandal.
The construction was stopped and they began to strengthen the construction in every way. It succeeded, but the construction again stood up. And it was not about finances. There was money, there was no unity of the Church.
In Germany, the Reformation expanded. The Catholic religion was losing ground. A rebel, a critic of papal rule in Rome in 1517, was a young doctor of theology from the University of Wittenberg, Martin Luther. He demanded to reform the Catholic Christian doctrine, bring it into line with the Bible, called the abuse of the Catholic Church immoral, in particular the sale of indulgences. This is how Protestantism arose. Only after that, in 1530, Münster began to be completed in Ulm. Now he was considered Lutheran.
In 1543, construction stopped again, not reaching a height of 100 meters. The split of the church into Catholic and Protestant led to the fact that funding ceased. Catholic townspeople did not want to make donations to the Lutheran Cathedral, and the Lutherans themselves did not have enough funds to erect a bell tower. Nevertheless, in Münster they began to conduct services.
Only after 300 years, local authorities decided to bring the construction, begun back in the XIV century, to completion. And by 1890, Munster was ready. In the room can be 22 thousand believers at the same time, there are 2 thousand seats.
