Stuttgart

Stuttgart lies in a valley basin surrounded by woods and vineyards, in the middle of which flows the Neckar. Around the year 950, Duke Liutolf von Schwaben laid out a "stuotgarten", that is a stud, in this valley, to which the settlement which grew up around it owes its name. The place name first appears in 1229 in a legal document of Pope Gregory IX. In the first half of the 13th century, the Margraves of Baden granted the up-and-coming locality city status.

Mediaeval landmarks

Even today, the Stiftskirche (collegiate church) on the Schillerplatz recalls the period of the Staufer Emperors. It was built around 1170, and its two unequal towers were the landmark of old Stuttgart. Beside it is the oldest house in Stuttgart, the "Fruchtkasten". This Late Gothic building, which was first mentioned in 1393, served as a storehouse for corn and wine.

In addition, the stately Old Castle points back to the beginnings of Stuttgart. The layout of the castle dates from a moated castle, which in the 10th century provided a protective barrier for the stud. After the Counts of Württemberg took up residence in Stuttgart in the 14th century, the castle was developed into their principal seat.

Just the spot for castle lovers

In the mid-16th century, the castle was rebuilt into a magnificent Renaissance palace. Today the Old Castle houses the Württemberg State Museum. The collection displays exhibits from the 16th century, which came from the Chamber of Arts of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg.



The Schlossplatz is one of the finest city squares in Europe, and, in addition to the Old Castle, also brings together buildings from a wide variety of periods. The baroque New Castle, opposite the Late Classical Königsbau, the House of Art, and the Old Chancellery. And in the middle of this group of buildings stands the Jubilee Column, crowned by a statue of the goddess Concordia.

The centre of German spiritual and intellectual life

In the Late Middle Ages, wine growing and trade were already forming the economic foundation of the town. However, in the 17th and 18th centuries, Stuttgart became increasingly renowned for its educational institutions. In 1686, the "Gymnasium illustre" grammar school, today called the Eberhard-Ludwig-Gymnasium, was founded. Its most famous pupil was the philosopher Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, who was born in Stuttgart in 1770.

Exercising an even greater influence on the intellectual-political life of Stuttgart, but also on its artistic-architectural life, was the Hohe Karlsschule. Although it only existed for two decades from 1775 to 1794, renowned writers and academics studied and taught at the University. Its most famous alumnus was Friedrich Schiller, who wrote his play "Die Räuber" (The Robbers) while studying medicine there.

In 1810, Schiller's and Goethe's publisher, Johann Friedrich Cotta, came from Tübingen to Stuttgart and turned the town into the most important centre of the German book trade and of German literature. In Stuttgart lived renowned writers and editors such as Ludwig Uhland, Gustav Schwab and Eduard Mörike. In 1849 alone, 249 writers were living in Stuttgart.

Motor cars, hi-tech and science

But it was only the founding of the Bosch (1886) and Daimler (1890) companies which were to make Stuttgart a household name throughout the world. In 1886, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach developed a fast-running petrol engine which drove a coach - the first motor car. One year previously, Carl Benz had incorporated a two-stroke engine into a three-wheeled coach. Thus began the almost 115 years of automotive history which, with Porsche AG in Stuttgart, shows a continuing history of success.

With the development of the business location, a famous educational landscape has been created. It offers a close combination of hi-tech, practice-oriented studies and exchange with the business sector. In this way, the two universities of Stuttgart and Hohenheim educate highly-qualified specialists, particularly in the technical and natural science disciplines. The Science Hill of the University of Stuttgart and the special research areas in Hohenheim are think tanks for technical developments and high points for scientific exchange.

The wine-growing city

In Stuttgart, wine-growing has a tradition dating back centuries, and in earlier times created the wealth of the city. Because of the excellent wine-growing locations, it is always possible to produce a large quantity of quality wines. Every year, many awards at regional and national awards ceremonies bear testimony to the quality of Swabian wines.

Uhlbach, with the Viniculture Museum of the Land capital Stuttgart, has become a centre of attraction for connoisseurs and lovers of good wines. The museum houses press beams, casks, cooper's workshop, distillery, drinking vessels and wine containers from two millennia. The wine tasting room invites visitors to taste local wines from Stuttgart and its surrounding area.

Stuttgart – city of sport

Stuttgart has already been the venue for many international sporting events, and since the World Athletics Championships in 1993, proudly bears the title of "the most friendly sporting city in the world". As early as 1974, games in the Football World Championships took place in the Land capital. As a venue for the 2006 Football World Championships and as the organiser of the Road World Championships, in future years Stuttgart will be offering more large-scale sporting events. The Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, home ground of the German Football League's VfB Stuttgart, is being specially rebuilt and modernised to meet the requirements for the World Championship games.