The German prefix ur- may be related to the prefix er-: Urlaub 'leave, vacation' ~ erlauben 'to allow (lease to), grant permission', Urkunde 'document' ~ erkunden 'to ascertain, gain information about, reconnoitre',. Urteil 'juedgment' is related to English ordeal. [From Kluge, EW.] The 'city' of Ur may have been a district or country. Seems the Sumerian name was Urim. (The present word, Ur, comes from the Hebrew pronunciation in the OT.) I thought it might have something to do with Sumerian uru, iri, which is the word and determinitive of city, but probably not. I would be surprized of a connection between German and Sumerian, languages separated by about 4 millennia.