Stuttgart makes history

Around the year 90 AD, the Romans had built the most important fort in the Middle Neckar region at the bend of the Neckar near today's Bad Cannstatt. And on the Altenburg, an ecclesiastical center had been established since Alamannic times. The traces of settlement in Stuttgart, on the other hand, are more recent: Duke Liudolf of Swabia is said to have established a horse stud around 950, giving the developing settlement its name and coat of arms. The first evidence of the name is the mention of a "Hugo von Stuokarten" dated to the middle of the 12th century. Around 1220 the place is elevated to a town and in 1229 it is mentioned for the first time in a document of Pope Gregory IX.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the Counts of Württemberg moved their burial place and seat of power to Stuttgart. This triggers building activity and an economic upswing. Among other things, the  collegiate church (opens in a new tab),  Leonhard church (opens in a new tab)and  Dominican church (opens in a new tab)(today's Hospital church) were built during this period. In 1495, Emperor Maximilian elevated Württemberg to a duchy. Under Duke Christoph and his son Ludwig, the Reformation and Renaissance architecture move into Stuttgart in the second half of the 16th century. In the course of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the previously flourishing residential city suffers great damage. The burden of war and epidemics reduce Stuttgart's population from just under 10,000 to about 4,500.

While Duke Eberhard Ludwig had moved the residence to Ludwigsburg at the beginning of the 18th century, Stuttgart developed into a cultural center during the era of  Karl Eugen ( (opens in a new tab) since 1744). Among other things, the duke founded the first Württemberg Academy of Art in 1761 and the High Charles School a few years later.

In the course of the territorial reorganization by Napoleon, Württemberg was elevated to a kingdom in 1806. King Frederick, the "Württemberg Czar," and his successor Wilhelm I are strongly interested in the expansion of the residence on today's  Schlossplatz (opens in a new tab); among other things, the Wilhelmspalais, the Katharinenhospital, the  Staatsgalerie (opens in a new tab), the Villa Berg, the Kronprinzenpalais and the Königsbau are built. The relocation of the publisher Johann Friedrich von Cotta from Tübingen to Stuttgart in 1810 makes the city a center of the book trade and literature.

Industrialization gets off to a slow start due to the unfavorable traffic situation and the lack of water power and raw materials. The first Württemberg railroad runs from Cannstatt to Esslingen in 1845. And in 1868, the first horse-drawn tramway runs from Stuttgart to the Berg mineral baths. With the expansion of the railroad network, the number of factories increases from 17 (1832) to 173 (1861), and the number of workers from 600 to 4,000. From the end of the 19th century, Stuttgart develops into a prosperous industrial location thanks to a differentiated, export-oriented economy, especially in mechanical engineering, precision mechanics and electrical engineering, and a highly qualified workforce. The first automobile from Gottlieb Daimler's workshop in Cannstatt was built in 1886.

Stuttgart's population grows from 91,000 (1871) to 286,000 (1910). The provision of infrastructure results in an expansion of the municipal administration, which documents its self-confidence with a new  city hall (opens in a new tab)(1905). The union with Cannstatt opens access to the Neckar in 1905. The city acquires land for infrastructure projects, such as the slaughterhouse and gas boiler, as well as for housing and settlement construction, through incorporations, which are not without controversy, but some of which come from neighboring communities themselves. After the forced incorporations during the Nazi era, the municipality grew from just under 3,000 hectares to over 21,000 hectares.

After the First World War, Stuttgart experiences a cultural blossoming. The new state theaters, which opened in 1912, also present contemporary works, and  Adolf Hölzel (opens in a new tab) and his school shape modernism in art. The upswing in architecture is particularly visible, producing important buildings such as the  Weissenhofsiedlung (opens in a new tab), the Tagblatt Tower and the Schocken department store. In the crisis years of the Republic, Stuttgart is considered an "oasis". The NSDAP's election results are far below the national average.

During the Nazi era, the gymnastics festival in 1933, the elevation to the status of "City of the Germans Abroad" in 1936 with large-scale events, and especially the Reich Garden Show in 1939 on Killesberg stand for identification with the Nazi national community. On the other hand, dissidents and alleged inferiors were excluded and persecuted. More than 500 people in Stuttgart become victims of the so-called euthanasia. From the end of 1941, 2,500 Jewish citizens of Stuttgart and Württemberg are deported and murdered, as are hundreds of Sinti and Roma in March 1943. Large parts of Stuttgart are destroyed in  air raids (opens in a new tab) in 1944. Some 4,500 people lose their lives, including around 700 forced laborers. In the same year, the Stauffenberg brothers, who grew up in Stuttgart Castle, are executed as accomplices in the assassination of Adolf Hitler in Berlin.

In the post-war period, Stuttgart takes a rapid development thanks to the favorable socio-economic conditions. In 1952, the state of Baden-Württemberg is founded with Stuttgart as its capital. 1956 sees the inauguration of the new city hall, the Liederhalle and the television tower built by Süddeutscher Rundfunk after rejection by the city council - today a landmark of the city. At the same time, buildings from different eras that characterize the cityscape, such as the 13th century Steinhaus, the Kronprinzenpalais and the Schocken department store, fall victim to the pickaxe.

Under the postulate of the car-friendly city, an inner-city traffic ring is being built in Stuttgart, the first plans for which date back to before 1933. While streetcar lines have been tunneled since the 1970s, an S-Bahn main line opened in 1978 and pedestrian zones created, changes are being debated for at least part of the ring ("Kulturmeile").

With the economic miracle, numerous labor migrants come to Stuttgart following recruitment agreements from 1955 onward. Today, Stuttgart is widely regarded as a successful example of integration - aided by the flourishing economy and the relatively homogeneous urban society as well as the commitment of the city and civil society, which has won numerous awards. This is also exemplified by the popular and liberal-minded Lord Mayor  Manfred Rommel (opens in a new tab), who in 1977 facilitated the joint burial of RAF terrorists Baader, Ensslin and Raspe, thus setting a controversial example of reconciliation.

Economic crises and their social consequences leave their mark on the city budget in the new millennium. Under changed conditions, the art museum, city archive, city library and city palace have been able to open since 2005. And Stuttgart consolidates its reputation as a cultural metropolis. In 2012, Fritz Kuhn wins the mayoral election, becoming the first Green leader of a state capital. More recently, Stuttgart's urban society has been shaped by a debate about  Stuttgart 21 that has attracted nationwide attention. The construction project is the culmination of debates about the face of the city and about citizen participation in planning processes.

Once  Stuttgart 21 goes into operation, the  Rosenstein Quarter, currently the city's largest planned construction project, will be built on the track apron that has been freed up. On an area of around 85 hectares, a new district is being created that stands for future-oriented living and working and will also house cultural facilities. Dense, mixed, affordable and sustainable are the key words of the concept. Another important building block in the city's development history.