Capital of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg with a population of approximately 590,000 as of September 2005 in the city and around 3 million in the metropolitan area. Stuttgart is the sixth largest city in Germany.
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About 950 AD,
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. Later on,
Stuttgart became the residence of the counts of
Wuerttemberg.
The name of the royal family of
Wuerttemberg and of the state originates from a steep Stuttgart hill, formerly known as
Wirtemberg, nowadays called
Wuerttemberg. On top of that hill, the mausoleum from 1824 of
Queen Katharina and King Wilhelm I of Wuerttemberg is located.
Stuttgart is known for its cultural life, in particular the
Staatstheater and Staatsgalerie. The Staatstheater contains an opera house and three smaller theatres, where opera, ballet, theatre and concerts are produced. The city also offers two Broadway-style Musical theatres, the
Apollo and the Palladium Theatre.
Stuttgart's city centre 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. 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.
