Stuttgart

Stuttgart, city in southwestern Germany, capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg, on the Neckar River. The city is a commercial, manufacturing, and transportation center situated in a vineyard area. It is a major railroad junction and a river port and is served by an international airport. Principal manufactures of the area include motor vehicles, printed materials, electrical and photographic equipment, precision instruments, machinery, textiles, beverages, chemicals, and metal and wood products. Tourism and conventions are important to the economy.

In the Stuttgart metropolitan area are Hohenheim University (1818); Stuttgart University (1829); academies of fine arts, music, and the performing arts; the Württemberg State Library; and state and municipal archives. Among the museums in and near the city are the Württemberg State Museum, featuring the Württemberg crown jewels; the Stuttgart State Gallery, with a collection of paintings from the Middle Ages to the present; the Daimler-Benz Automobile Museum; a municipal gallery featuring the works of 19th- and 20th-century regional artists; a Bible museum; the Schiller National Museum, with memorabilia of Friedrich von Schiller, who was born in nearby Marbach; and museums of ethnology and natural history. Other points of interest include the Stiftskirche, or Collegiate Church (begun 12th century, completed 16th century); the Old Castle (13th century, rebuilt late 16th century); the New Palace (1746-1807); Solitude Castle (1760s), which includes elements of the neoclassical and rococo styles; the Württemberg State Theater, home of the noted Stuttgart Ballet; and a tall television broadcasting tower with observation platforms.

Settled in the 10th century, the community was named for a stud farm (Stutengarten) that was originally on the site. The town became a residence of the counts of Württemberg in 1320. In the late 15th century it was made the capital of the duchy (from 1806, kingdom) of Württemberg. The city expanded rapidly during the 19th and 20th centuries as industries, particularly automobile manufacturing, were developed. In 1883 Gottlieb Daimler assembled the first high-speed gasoline engine in nearby Bad Cannstatt. The old section of the city, almost completely destroyed by bombing during World War II (1939-1945), has since been either restored or redeveloped. Population (2005 estimate) 590,700.