Stuttgart started out on a small scale: tradition tells us that Herzog Liudolf von Schwaben started a stud farm in a widened area of the Nesenbach valley in the year 950 AD.

In 1812, Stuttgart was the Royal capital and city of residence. For centuries, the settlement that evolved was overshadowed by Cannstatt, the site of the largest and most important Roman castle in the central Neckar area. The Margraves of Baden, who were the competitors of the Counts and later Dukes of Württemberg to the West, promoted it to the status of a city in the first half of the 13th Century. In the 14th Century, it became the centre of the Dukedom of Württemberg.

Timeline:

• 1495 - 1803, Stuttgart was principally the capital city and city of residence of the Dukes;
• 1803 - 1805 Capital city and city of residence of the Electorate;
• 1806 - 1918 Capital city and city of residence of Kingdom of Württemberg;
• 1918 - 1945 State Capital of Württemberg;
• 1945 - 1954 Capital city of Württemberg-Baden
• and since 1952, seat of Government of the new State of Baden-Württemberg.

Despite heavy destruction, in particular during the Second World War, the city's history is clearly evident even in the modern Stuttgart. Architecturally speaking, this can clearly be seen in the Schillerplatz with the Old Castle, which together form a Renaissance ensemble, the Baroque New Castle, as the residence of the Dukes and later the Kings of Württemberg, and Neo-Classical buildings such as the Königsbau.

The Stuttgart City Archive collects information about the city's history. It acts as the "City historical centre", which records and evaluates all the City Council documents, and makes them accessible to the city's population and for research, rather like a "city memorial". It passes on the history of Stuttgart, through its own research, publications, conferences, lectures and exhibitions.

The State Capital is planning to create a City Museum in order to bring the city's history to life more vividly. When the City Library moves out in a few years, the Museum will be housed in the Wilhelms Palace.

Do you own interesting material about the history of Stuttgart? If so, please contact the City Archive. Anyone who is interested in Stuttgart and its history can view all the documents in the City Archive reading room. The staff there will be happy to advise you. Usage restrictions only apply to fragile original documents, of which you may be able to view copies, and to documents to which access is prohibited.