Stuttgart
Stuttgart [], a
city located in southern
Germany, is the capital of the state of
Baden-Württemberg with a population of approximately 590,000 (as of
September 2005) in the city and around 3 million in the
metropolitan area.
Stuttgart,
Germany, the capital of
Baden-Württemberg state (pop. 11 million, 36,000 square kilometers) and the Administrative Region of Stuttgart (pop. 4 million, 11,000 km²), is located in the center of the very densely populated southwestern
Stuttgart Region (population 2.7 million, 3,700 km²) of
Germany, close to both the
Black Forest and the
Swabian Jura. The city center (situated in a lush valley, ringed with vineyards and forests, close to the River
Neckar) itself has a population of 591 528 (as of 30 April 2006) and covers an area of 207 km². Stuttgart with its metropolitan area (the political entity "
Stuttgart Region" enlarged by the nearby cities of
Ludwigsburg,
Böblingen,
Esslingen,
Waiblingen,
Göppingen and their respective districts [
kreise]) is one of the most prominent and well-known German towns, especially due to its cultural, administrative and huge economic importance.
Stuttgart is the sixth largest city in Germany and
Stuttgart Region is the nation's fourth largest
conurbation (behind Ruhr Area, Rhein/Main Area and Berlin). Neighbouring large cities are
Frankfurt (210 km north of Stuttgart) and
Munich (220 km southeast of Stuttgart).
The City of Stuttgart is subdivided into 23 city districts, among the most well-known are:
*Bad Cannstatt (Western Europe's largest mineral spas / Zoo
Wilhelma / beer festivals "
Cannstatter Wasen" and "
Stuttgarter Frühlingsfest")
*Moehringen (Musical Theaters)
*Stammheim (High-security court & jail, see
RAF terrorists)
*Untertürkheim (
DaimlerChrysler HQ and Original
Mercedes-Benz plant)
*Vaihingen (One of two campuses of Stuttgart's university)
*Zuffenhausen (Home of the
Porsche Sports Cars Company)
*Feuerbach (Home of original
Bosch plant)
Stuttgart is also the seat of a
protestant bishop (Protestant State Church of Württemberg) and one of the two co-seats of the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese Rottenburg-Stuttgart. The
pentecostal Biblische Glaubens-Gemeinde ist the largest
megachurch in Germany.
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City Center seen from Weinsteige Road |
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Stuttgart Palace Square - New Palace |
The coat of arms shows a black, rampant horse on a yellow or golden field. It is a
canting seal due to the fact that the name "Stuttgart" is an over the centuries modified version of "Stutengarten", in English roughly "mare garden" or "stud farm". About
950, Stuttgart was originally founded by Duke
Liudolf of
Swabia, one of the sons of the Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great, and used for horse breeding (especially for his father's cavalry, see
Battle of Lechfeld). Later on (about
1300), Stuttgart became the residence of the counts of
Württemberg. In
1496, the counts of Württemberg were promoted to dukes by the emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire. After
Napoleon's breakup of the Holy Roman Empire, the dukes of Württemberg earned the title of kings and Stuttgart became a royal residence.
The name of the royal family of Württemberg and of the state originates from a steep Stuttgart hill, formerly known as Wirtemberg, nowadays called Württemberg. On top of that hill, the mausoleum from
1824 of Queen Katharina (daughter of
Czar Paul I of Russia) and King Wilhelm I of Württemberg is located.
During the
revolution of 1848/1849, a democratic pan-German national parliament (
Frankfurt Parliament) was formed in
Frankfurt to overcome the division of Germany. After long discussions, the parliament decided to offer the title of German Emperor to the
Prussian king. Since the democratic movement became weaker, the German princes regained control of their independent states. Finally the Prussian king declined the revolutionaries' offer. The members of parliament were driven out of Frankfurt, and the most radical members (those who wanted to establish a republic) fled to Stuttgart. A short while later, this
rump parliament was dissolved by the Württemberg military.
In
1871, as an autonomous kingdom, Württemberg joined the
German Empire or Kaiserreich, created by the Prussian prime minister Otto von
Bismarck through several successful wars and diplomacy. After
World War I, the monarchy broke down and the Free State of Württemberg was established, as a part of the
Weimar Republic. In
1920, Stuttgart was the seat of the German National Government (since the administration had to flee from
Berlin, see
Kapp Putsch). During
World War II, the city center of Stuttgart was nearly completely destroyed due to Allied air raids.
In
1945 the Allied Forces took control of Germany. They merged parts of the former German States of
Baden and
Württemberg and later in
1952 on the new, democratic state Baden-Württemberg (3rd largest German state) with Stuttgart as its capital was created by a referendum.
After World War II, an early concept of the
Marshall Plan to support the reconstruction and economic/political recovery of Europe was presented during a speech given by US Secretary of State
James F. Byrnes at the Stuttgart Opera House (
September 6,
1946). This speech led directly to the unification of the British and American occupation zones, resulting in the so called bi-zone. Two years later, the French also joined the bi-zone, creating the tri-zone and thereby paving the way for the foundation of the
Federal Republic of Germany. Stuttgart, like
Frankfurt, was a serious contender to become the federal capital, but finally
Bonn succeeded.
In the late seventies, the city district of Stammheim was center stage of one of the most controversial periods of German post-war history: The
Red Army Faction trial at the Stammheim high-security court and the subsequent suicides of Ulrike Meinhof, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe (all imprisoned in the Stammheim jail). The trial and the period thereafter were accompanied by several new terroristic assaults to liberate the inmates (
German Autumn 1977: i.a. the abduction and murder of the German industrialist and President of the German Employers' Association
Hanns Martin Schleyer resp. the hijacking of
Lufthansa flight LH181, redirecting the jet to
Mogadishu).
During the
Cold War, the joint command center of all
United States military forces in Europe, Africa and the Atlantic was moved to Stuttgart (US European Command, EUCOM).
EUCOM is still headquartered there today.
U.S. Army bases in and around Stuttgart include or included the following: Patch Barracks (HQ EUCOM), Robinson Barracks, Kelley Barracks (General Patton's son once lived there), Nellingen Barracks, Panzer Kaserne, and Granadier Kaserne.
American dependent schools, affiliated with either the United States Dependents Schools Europe (USDESEA) or Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS), included Stuttgart American High School (
Pattonville); Stuttgart Elementary and Junior High Schools (Robinson Barracks); Patch High School (Patch Barracks); and Boeblingen Elementary School (Panzer Kaserne). American high school sports teams from Stuttgart would play against American high schools in
Frankfurt,
Kaiserslautern,
Wiesbaden, and sometimes
Munich.
Approximately 150,000 companies are located in the Stuttgart region. The area is known for its high-tech industry; some of its most prominent companies include
DaimlerChrysler,
Porsche,
Bosch,
Celesio,
Hewlett-Packard and
IBM all of whom located their world or German headquarters here. In fact, the Porsche badge, as seen on the front of Porsche cars has this town's name in the centre of the badge, something that is unique amongst the world's vehicle makers. A theory even suggests that also the
Ferrari logo "Cavallino Rampante" had its origin in the Stuttgart coat-of-arms. Stuttgart is the place where the motorbike and the four-wheeled automobile were invented (invented by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, industrialised 1887 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in their 1887
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft), it's hence the starting point of the worldwide automotive industry. Such famous and prestigious brands as
Mercedes-Benz,
Porsche and
Maybach are produced there. Also the very first prototypes of the eventual
VW Beetle were fabricated in Stuttgart, based on a design by
Ferdinand Porsche.
The region currently has Germany's highest density of scientific, academic and research organisations, and tops the national league for patent applications. More than 11% of all R&D-expenses in the Federal Republic of Germany are generated in the Stuttgart Region (approximately 4.3 billion Euro per year). In addition to several universities and colleges, the area has six institutes of the
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, four institutes for collaborative industrial research at local universities, two
Max-Planck Institut, as well as one large-scale research centre—the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
Stuttgart holds top place of all European Union regions according to the share of employment in high-tech and medium-high tech manufacturing with a figure of 21.0% (2001 data from Eurostat).
The Stuttgart Stock Exchange is the second largest in Germany (only behind Frankfurt) and important financial companies are headquartered in Stuttgart (e.g. Allianz Life Insurance, LBBW Bank or Wüstenrot), as well. In addition to these global players, the Stuttgart economy consists of many highly versatile and dynamic medium-sized enterprises (the so-called "
Mittelstand").
Furthermore, Stuttgart is still one of Germany's largest wine-growing towns with a century-long tradition and is situated at the geographic center of the "Württemberg Wine Growing Area" (110.30 km², one of 13 official German growing areas, according to the German Wine Law).
Stuttgart is also home to Dinkel-Acker Brewing Co.
Stuttgart, like other cities in Germany, is served by a regional rapid transit system called the
S-Bahn. The S-Bahn trains operate on the rails of the Deutsche Bahn AG and are powered with normal traction current (single phase AC, 15 kV/16.67 hertz) taken from overhead wires. Stuttgart also has a
light rail system (
Stadtbahn in German) which has incrementally replaced the city's tram lines. It runs with DC with a voltage of 750 volts and uses normal gauge. In the city centre as well as in other densely built-up districts of the city, the
Stadtbahn runs underground; hence the "U"-symbol for
U-Bahn is used to signify it. Because the old tram lines used metre gauge, some of the light rail system's trackage still has three rails.
A peculiarity of Stuttgart is the
Zahnradbahn, a
rack railway operating from Marienplatz in the heart of the city to the Degerloch district; it is the only urban rack railway in Germany and is powered by electricity. Furthermore, there is a
cable car that operates in the city's Heslach district to the forest cemetery (Waldfriedhof), employing cars built of wood.On the Killesberg, a prominent hill in the city, there is a
park railway run by diesel (and on weekends with steam), which makes roundtrips through the
Killesberg Park. At the forest hostel of the city's public transport provider, there is a small electric tram for children called "Rumpelstilzchen", which is closed to tourists.
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Neues Schloss and Schlossplatz in Winter 2006 |
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Stuttgart Palace Square - City Art Museum & King's Building |
|
Wilhelma Zoo and Botanical Garden, around 1900 |
Stuttgart is known for its cultural life, in particular the
Staatstheater and
Staatsgalerie. The
Staatstheater contains an opera house and three smaller theaters, where opera, ballet, theatre and concerts are produced. The world-renowned Stuttgart Opera won the prestigious "Opera of the year" (Germany/Austria/Switzerland) award for five years running (1998-2002). The famous Stuttgart Ballet is connected to names like
John Cranko and
Marcia Haydée. The city also offers two broadway-style Musical theaters, the Apollo and the Palladium Theater (each approx. 1800 seats).
Stuttgart is home to ten institutes of higher education, the largest being
University of Stuttgart,
Stuttgart Media University and
University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart.
Stuttgart's city center was heavily destroyed during World War II. During the reconstruction of the city in the style of the 1950s and 1960s many surviving historic buildings were demolished, e.g. the Kronprinzenpalais at Schlossplatz. The city today is thus poor in historic buildings. Nevertheless, many historic buildings have been reconstructed, and the city boasts of some fine pieces of modern post-war architecture.
*1200 - 1600 Collegiate Church (Stiftskirche; Exterior:
Romanesque/
Gothic); Interior: Romanesque/Gothic/Modern); reconstructed with simplified interior
*1300 - 1500 Old Palace (Altes Schloß;
Renaissance Style); reconstructed
*1700 - 1800 New Palace (Neues Schloß;
Baroque /
Classicism); reconstructed with modern interior
*1700 - 1800
Castle Solitude (Baroque /
Rococo);
*1850 King's Building (Königsbau; Classicism); reconstructed
*1910 Market Hall (
Art Nouveau);
*1920 Main Railway Station (Pre-Modern);
*1920 Weissenhof Estate (
Bauhaus /
International Style);
*1950
TV Tower (World's First concrete TV Tower);
*1980 New State Gallery (
Neue Staatsgalerie;
Postmodern);
*2000
Stuttgart Airport Terminal Building (Modern) - located just outside the city in neighboring
Leinfelden-Echterdingen*2005
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart (Modern).
In 1992, the
VfB Stuttgart (a leading
Bundesliga football team) claimed the first German Championship title after the reunification of the football federations of West and East Germany. The city also has a reputation for organizing other major sports events. It hosted the
1993 World Championships in Athletics and many other world and European championships of all kind of sports. The town will be one of the twelve hosts of the
Football World Cup 2006. I.a. the 3rd and 4th place playoff of the World Cup will be held at the City's Daimler Stadium. Stuttgart also is "
European Sports Capital 2007".
Stuttgart's Swabian cuisine, beer and wine (produced in the area since the 1600s) are also well known. There are two famous annual beer festivals; the "
Cannstatter Volksfest" on the "
Cannstatter Wasen" and the slightly smaller "
Stuttgarter Frühlingsfest" - However, both are second only in size to the
Oktoberfest in
Munich. The
Christmas Market of Stuttgart is the largest and one of the oldest and most beautiful in Europe, especially renowned for the abundant decorations.
The famous "
Wilhelma" is Germany's only combined zoological and botanical garden. The whole compound was built around 1850 as a summer palace in moorish style for King
Wilhelm I of
Württemberg. Close to the Wilhelma, there are the Stuttgart city districts of
Bad Cannstatt and Berg which are the second largest mineral spas in Europe (only surpassed by
Budapest).
Other important towns in the Stuttgart Region are
Ludwigsburg with its enormous
baroque palace,
Sindelfingen and
Esslingen.
Notable people born in Stuttgart or residents who influenced the history of the city:
*
Günther Behnisch - architect
*
Robert Bosch - inventor (founded the
Robert Bosch GmbH)
*
Gottlieb Daimler - inventor of the motorbike and automobile, founded what would become
Mercedes-Benz*
Dominic Dobson, race car driver
*
Wilhelm Maybach - inventor together with
Gottlieb Daimler *
Ferdinand Porsche - creator of the VW Beetle, founder of the
Porsche car company
*
Roland Emmerich - director
*
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel - philosopher
*
Theodor Heuss - First German Post-War President
*
Jürgen Klinsmann - football player, coach of the German football squad
*
Hermann Lang - Grand Prix race car driver
*
Frei Otto - architect
*
Friedrich von Schiller - famous German poet
*
Peter Schilling - popular musician and
Neue Deutsche Welle artist
*
Count Stauffenberg - member of the German Resistance who tried to kill Hitler
*
Richard von Weizsäcker - German President, Lord Mayor of Berlin
*
Bernard Tomic -
Tennis child prodigy*
St Helens, Merseyside, United Kingdom, since 1948
*
Cardiff, United Kingdom, since 1955
*
St. Louis, USA, since 1960
*
Strasbourg, France, since 1962
*
Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), India, since 1968
*
Menzel-Bourguiba, Tunisia, since 1971
*
Cairo, Egypt, since 1979
*
Łódź, Poland, since 1988
*
Brno, Czech Republic, since 1989
*
Samara, Russia, since 1992
*
Official homepage of Stuttgart*
Official Stuttgart Tourist Board*
Tourist Information at Wikitravel*
Fullscreen 360°panoramic views*
Stuttgart City Panoramas - Panoramic Views and Virtual Tours
*
Stuttgart International Airport*
Stuttgart Public Transportation System*
Stuttgarter Staatstheater official site, including the Staatsoper Stuttgart*
Stuttgart Hostels-Search and book Hostels online.
*
University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim official site*
University of Stuttgart official site*
Stuttgart Media University*
University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart official site*
Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg - Stuttgart*
Weissenhof Estate (Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe)*
Daimler Stadium Stuttgart official site*
Movie Schedule for Stuttgart*
Daily Photoblog of Stuttgart*
Stuttgart - Attractions and Places of Interest
*
Budget accommodation in Stuttgart*
betacity is a collaborative calendar, mailinglist, blog and bookmark collection to foster the exchange of information concerning events, projects and initiatives organized within the field of art, culture, media and design. Local focus: Stuttgart *
Pictures of Stuttgart (German/English)
*
Photographs of Stuttgart
