Ulm
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Ulm. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a city of Wurtemberg, Germany. It is situated on the upper Danube, about forty-five miles from Stuttgart. It is one of the old free imperial cities. It is still surrounded by a wall of great strength. A fine stone bridge connects the city with New Ulm on the Bavarian shore. The chief building is the minster, one of the largest Gothic buildings in Europe. The west front has three doorways. The main portal is surmounted by a spire 524 feet high. It is one of the loftiest stone structures in the world. The city library contains many rare volumes and priceless manuscripts. Narrow winding streets and quaint houses are characteristic features of the city. An unusual number of battles have been fought in the vicinity. Ulm had a population in 1906 of 51,820. It is an important railway center. There are manufactures of leather, beer, pipes, toys, and hats. Tourists are fond of a certain kind of gingerbread for which Ulm is famous. See Nuremberg
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a town of Germany, in Württemberg; at the base of the Suabian Alps, on a declivity, and on the left bank of the Danube. The city is very strongly fortified, of great age, and has many quaint and curious streets and buildings, many of the tall houses forming the narrow irregular streets being constituted of wood, and most elaborately carved. The cathedral is the great object of admiration, being one of the largest and loftiest Gothic ecclesiastical buildings in Germany. The tombs, stained windows, and shrines, oak carvings, and paintings in oil by the early German masters, which adorn the interior, make the cathedral of Ulm in every respect unique. Manufactures are linen, silks, paper, leather, tobacco, porcelain, and playing cards. Pop. about 60,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Both accounts dwell on the "quaint and curious streets" of carved wooden houses; a British air raid on 17 December 1944 destroyed most of Ulm's old town, and the medieval quarter that survives today is a small remnant, patched with post-war rebuilding. The minster came through and still holds the record these entries hint at: at 161.5 metres (about 530 feet), its spire, finished in 1890, remains the tallest church tower in the world. The fortress walls Aiton's called "of great strength" were long obsolete and are now a walking route and park. Ulm has grown from the 60,000 Collier's estimated to roughly 125,000, gained a university in 1967, and is best known abroad as the birthplace of Albert Einstein, born there in 1879 — a fact neither entry mentions.
Written for this edition, 2026.