Stuttgart (Alemannic: Schduagert) is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 613,392 (December 2011) while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million (2008). With over 5 million inhabitants, the greater Stuttgart Metropolitan Region is the fourth-biggest in Germany after the Rhine-Ruhr area, Berlin/Brandenburg and Frankfurt/Rhine-Main. The city lies at the centre of a densely populated area, surrounded by a ring of smaller towns. This area called Stuttgart Region has a population of 2.7 million. Stuttgart's urban area has a population of roughly 1.8 million, making it Germany's seventh largest.
Stuttgart is spread across a variety of hills (some of them vineyards), valleys and parks – unusual for a German city and often a source of surprise to visitors who primarily associate the city with its industrial reputation as the 'cradle of the automobile'. Stuttgart has the status of Stadtkreis, a type of self-administrating urban county. It is also the seat of the state legislature, the regional parliament, the local council and the Protestant State Church in Württemberg as well as one of the two co-seats of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.
The city of Stuttgart ranked 30th globally in Mercer's 2010 liveability rankings, and 7th in Germany behind top-ranked cities such as Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Munich. For economic and social innovation, the city was ranked 11th globally, second in Germany after Hamburg and 7th in Europe in 2009 out of 256 cities.
The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), in March 2008 the city unveiled a new logo and slogan, describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new heart of Europe"). For business, it describes itself as "Standort Zukunft", "Where business meets the future"). In 2007, the Bürgermeister marketed Stuttgart to foreign investors as "The creative power of Germany". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.
Stuttgart is nicknamed the Schwabenmetropole (Swabian metropolis), because of the city's location in the centre of Swabia, and as a reference to the Swabian dialect spoken by its native inhabitants. In that dialect, the city's name is pronounced Schtugert or Schtuagerd. However, many non-Swabian Germans have emigrated to Stuttgart for economic reasons and 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five, are of foreign immigrant background.
Name and coat of arms
Stuttgart's coat of arms shows a black horse on its hind legs on a yellow background. It was first used in its current format in 1938; prior to this various designs and colours had been used, often with two horses. The canting seal pictured here reflects the origin of the name 'Stuttgart'. The name in Old High German was 'stuotengarten', with 'stuoten' meaning mare, later cognate with the Old English term 'stod' (Modern English: 'stud', relating to the breeding of horses). The Old High German term 'garten' referred to the compound on the site of the original settlement. (compare English "yard") The logo of the Porsche automobile company features a modified version of Stuttgart's coat of arms at its centre.
Geography
Stuttgart lies about an hour from the Black Forest and a similar distance from the Swabian Jura. The city center lies in a lush valley, nestling between vineyards and thick woodland close by, but not on the River Neckar. Thus, the city is often described as lying "zwischen Wald und Reben", between forest and vines. In the hot summer months, local residents refer to this area as the Stuttgarter Kessel, or Stuttgart cauldron, for its hot and humid climate which is frequently warmer than the surrounding countryside of Württemberg.
Stuttgart covers an area of 207 km2 (80 sq mi). The elevation ranges from 207 m (679 ft) above sea level by the Neckar river to 549 m (1,801 ft) on Bernhartshohe hill. As a result there are more than 400 flights of stairs around the city (called "Staffele" in local dialect), equivalent to approximately 20 km (12 mi) of steps. Many originate from the time when vineyards lined the entire valley. Even today there are vineyards less than 500 m (1,640 ft) from the Main Station.
The first known settlement of Stuttgart was around the end of the 1st century AD with the establishment of a Roman fort in the modern district of Cannstatt on the banks of the river Neckar. Early in the 3rd century the Romans were pushed by the Alamanni back past the Rhine and the Danube. Although nothing is known about Cannstatt during the period of Barbarian Invasion it is believed that the area remained inhabited as it is mentioned in Abbey of St. Gall archives dating back to 700 AD.
Stuttgart itself was probably founded around 950 AD shortly before the Battle of Lechfeld by Duke Liudolf of Swabia, one of the sons of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I the Great. The town was used for breeding cavalry horses in fertile meadows at the very centre of today's city, although recent archaeological excavations indicate that this area was already home to Merovingian farmers.
A gift registry from Hirsau Abbey dated around 1160 mentioned 'Hugo de Stuokarten', confirmation of the existence of the Stuttgart of today.
Between this time and the 14th century, the settlement was owned by the Margraves of Baden and the Württemberg towns of Backnang and Besigheim.
Around 1300, Stuttgart became the residence of the Counts of Württemberg, who expanded the growing settlement and made it the capital of their territory (Territorialstaat). Stuttgart was elevated to the status of a city in 1321 when it became the official royal residence. The territory around Stuttgart was known as the County of Württemberg before the counts were elevated to the rank of duke by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1495, when Stuttgart became the Duchy capital and Ducal residence.
The name Württemberg originates from a steep hill in Stuttgart, formerly known as Wirtemberg.
In the 18th century, Stuttgart temporarily surrendered its residence status after Eberhard Ludwig founded Ludwigsburg to the north of the city. In 1775, Karl Eugen requested a return to Stuttgart, ordering the construction of the New Castle.
19th and early 20th centuries
In 1803, Stuttgart was proclaimed capital of the Electorate of Württemberg until Napoleon Bonaparte's break-up of the Holy Roman Empire in 1805 when Stuttgart became capital of the Kingdom of Württemberg. The royal residence was expanded under Frederick I of Württemberg although many of Stuttgart's most important buildings, including the Wilhelm Palace, Katharina Hospital, the State Gallery, the Villa Berg and the Konigsbau were built under the reign of King Wilhelm I. The jubilee column (erected between 1841 and 1846) on the Schlossplatz is located on the orthodromic distance line from the church of St. Michael in Roeselare over the Kokino observatory to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Stuttgart's development as a city was impeded in the 19th century by its location. It was not until the opening of the Main Station in 1846 that the city underwent an economic revival. The population at the time was around 50,000.
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 the German emperor to King Frederick William IV of Prussia. As 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 (who wanted to establish a republic) fled to Stuttgart. A short while later, this rump parliament was dissolved by the Württemberg military.
By 1871 Stuttgart boasted 91,000 inhabitants, and by the time Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile in a small workshop in Cannstatt, the population had risen rapidly to 176,000.
In 1871, as an autonomous kingdom, Württemberg joined the German Empire created by Otto von Bismarck, Prime Minister of Prussia, during the unification of Germany.
At the end of the First World War the Württemberg monarchy broke down: William II of Württemberg refused the crown – but also refused to abdicate – under pressure from revolutionaries who stormed the Wilhelm Palace. The Free State of Württemberg was established, as a part of the Weimar Republic. Stuttgart was proclaimed the capital.
In 1920 Stuttgart became the seat of the German National Government (after the administration fled from Berlin, see Kapp Putsch).
The Stuttgart area is known for its high-tech industry. Some of its most prominent companies include Daimler AG, Porsche, Bosch, Celesio, Hewlett-Packard and IBM – all of whom have their world or European headquarters here.
Stuttgart is home to Germany's ninth biggest exhibition centre, Stuttgart Trade Fair which lies on the city outskirts next to Stuttgart Airport. Hundreds of SMEs are still based in Stuttgart (often termed Mittelstand), many still in family ownership with strong ties to the automotive, electronics, engineering and high-tech industry.
Stuttgart has the highest general standard of prosperity of any city in Germany. Its nominal GDP per capita is €57,100 and GDP purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita is €55,400. Total GDP of Stuttgart is €33.9 billion, of which service sector contributes around 65.3%, industry 34.5%, and agriculture 0.2%.