Neu-Ulm Between Art, Fortifications and Urban Green Spaces

In Neu-Ulm, art, traces of the Federal Fortress and green urban spaces come together. The places and route information below offer different starting points for your stay.

Art, a children’s museum and Expressionist architecture

The Edwin Scharff Museum is located at Petrusplatz in the heart of Neu-Ulm. It brings an art museum and a children’s museum together under one roof. The permanent exhibitions are dedicated to Edwin Scharff, a painter, graphic artist and sculptor born in Neu-Ulm, and to the artist Ernst Geitlinger. The permanent exhibitions thus focus on two artists, while the museum’s two sections offer different ways to engage with them.

At the children’s museum, visitors of all ages can get creative themselves in the museum workshop on Make-and-Do Sundays, with guidance from the educational team. If you would like to plan around this activity, check the dates before your visit, as program schedules may change. The digital Neu-Ulm Art Tour offers a different perspective: it brings together 32 works of art, places and architectural sites in three thematically related tours. This means the museum exhibitions and the thematically organized art tour offer different ways to explore art and architecture.

St. Johann Baptist is also one of the city’s notable cultural landmarks. The church in Neu-Ulm is among Germany’s most important Expressionist sacred buildings. It brings the perspectives of art and religious architecture together.

The Federal Fortress and urban green spaces

The history of the Ulm/Neu-Ulm Federal Fortress is also reflected in Neu-Ulm in the relationship between the former fortifications and their use as a park today. About half of the complex remains. The site of the former Ulm Federal Fortress is now a banana-shaped city park in Neu-Ulm: the Glacis. Its transformation from former fortress grounds into a city park makes the Glacis both a place of local history and a green urban space.

Kollmannspark invites you to stroll around Neu-Ulm’s water tower. The Glacis grounds also include a small lakeside stage, a beer garden and a children’s playground immediately adjacent to it. These features give the grounds a range of places to visit, from a stroll to a stop at the playground. If you would like to use specific facilities, check the local information in advance.

Routes on foot and by bike

For a walk, consider the easy “Fortress and Danube Views in Neu-Ulm” route. It is 4.30 km long, takes about 1 hour and 1 minute, and runs from Schießhausallee to Johann-Baptist-Kirche. The stated distance, approximate duration and endpoints can help you see whether the route fits the time you have available. Route information may change, so check the details before setting out.

Cycling routes also provide options for different distances. The Danube Cycle Path runs through Ulm and Neu-Ulm; the full route is listed as 587 km and has a four-star ADFC rating. The Iller Cycle Path runs from Ulm/Neu-Ulm via Illertissen, Memmingen and Kempten to Oberstdorf. It runs mostly away from road traffic and is listed as 146 km long. By comparison, the listed total distance for the Danube Cycle Path is considerably longer; the Iller Cycle Path is also described as running mostly away from roads. Distances and route details may be revised, so it is worth checking the latest information before planning a trip.

Discover more destinations: Burlafingen, Vöhringen, Weißenhorn, Illertissen, Buch, Senden, Elchingen, Altenstadt.

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