An escalator takes you into the city centre to Stuttgart’s shopping street, which at 1.200 metres is one of Europe’s longest pedestrian zones Laid out in the early 19th century by Friedrich, the first king of Württemberg, Königstrasse with its historic buildings and modern architecture is now the centre of the urban life of Stuttgart. Now we reach one of the city’s most attractive squares, where there is a view of the Neues Schloss. The centrepiece of Schlossplatz is the jubilee column with a statue of Concordia (the goddess of harmony), which was erected in 1841 on the occasion of the silver jubilee marking 25 years of rule by King Wilhelm I. Next to it is a fountain representing a river in Württemberg.(fehlt noch etwas)

The city’s oldest church (Stiftskirche), whose two towers are not identical but are among the emblems of Stuttgart, is only a few paces from the market place. Originating as a simple village church in the 10th century and subject to many alterations and rebuildings since then, in 1534 it became a Protestant church. In that year the first reforming sermon was preached in Stuttgart, and thus the Reformation was introduced in the Duchy of Württemberg. It is also the burial place for the House of Württemberg, no longer a dark church nave but a modern, bright space with a ceiling consisting  of a delicate, folded structure of steel beams and expanses of glass.(fehltwas) 

The place where today the Landesmuseum Württemberg presents its treasures was the centre of power of the first counts and dukes of Württemberg. Constructed in the 10th century as a moated castle to protect the Stuotgarten horse stud, it was later extended with strong defences and made into a showcase complex of four wings in the 16th century. The magnificent Arkadenhof, or arcaded court, used for court ceremonies and for many celebrations and receptions, is among the most impressive examples of Renaissance architecture in Germany.

You can experience some of the atmosphere of this historic site if you pay a visit to the new exhibition “LegendäreMeisterWerke – Kulturgeschichte(n) aus Württemberg” As the name says, this is devoted to cultural masterpieces from Württemberg, a trip through time from the Stone Age to the present. There is lots to explore, from a world-famous, 35,000-year-old lion’s head of mammoth ivory, one of the oldest human artefacts, to the Württemberg crown jewels and the renowned glass collection of Ernesto Wolf!

FINE ARTS ALONG A MILE

Though there may be nicer places for a walk than an urban high- way, to make up for that there is a concentration of culture on an 800-metre section of Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse. Opposite the Staatstheater Stuttgart stands an impressive post-modern ensemble (Staatsgalerie) by the London architects James Stirling, Michael Wilford & Associates. By skillfully integrating new buildings into the existing cultural facilities and taking advantage of the slope, its has decisively changed the look of the Kulturmeile.In 1984 Stirling extended the three wings of the Neoclassical Alte Staatsgalerie with an unconventional U-shaped building that has bright red balustrades and light green window frames and floors. It quotes historic architectural forms from antiquity to modern times, and includes a classic feature of museums, a rotunda at the centre. In 2002 the Musikhochschule with its 60- metre-high circular tower and the Haus der Geschichte were completed. The Kulturmeile terminates in the neoclassical Wilhelmpalais, residence of the last king of Württemberg, Wilhelm II, until his abdication in 1918, and now home to the city library.

The spectacular and shining building in the shape of a double helix with intertwined ribbons of aluminium and glass is visible from far away. With its rounded forms, the Mercedes-Benz-Museum, designed by the UN Studio of Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, corresponds to the course and the bends of the Neckar valley, and rises like a pivot on its hill between the factories and the Mercedes-Benz Forum. Inside, the spectacle continues: from the atrium a futuristic lift takes visitors to a height of 34 metres. From here two routes curve down in broad sweeps via a total of nine levels and through approximately 17,000 square metres of exhibition space with 160 vehicles and more than 1500 exhibits. On every level visitors can switch from one route to the other. 

Especially in good weather, it’s well worth making a trip to the south-west of Stuttgart: here Duke Carl Eugen built himself a splendid pleasure palace, “far from the turmoil and disappointments of the world”, with a view of the Württemberg countryside round about and, 13 kilometres away, Ludwigsburg.

The avenue Solitudeallee, which runs dead straight to the duke’s residence in Ludwigsburg, leads up to the palace ensemble. Surrounded by little cavaliers’ houses and buildings for cavaliers and offices in a semi-oval, a magnificent Rococo building rises at the centre. With its tall lower story, circular central pavilion with dome and belvedere, and monumental flights of steps, it is reminiscent of the palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam.

Don’t fail to visit the interior of the palace, which is accessible several times daily on a guided tour. The richly decorated rooms with their frescoes and ceiling paintings show the splendour of bygone days. In the Weisser Saal (White Room) below the dome, in particular, you can understand that for Duke Carl Eugen Schloss Solitude – as the name says – was a place for enjoyment, far from court ceremonies. And you get an especially impressive feeling of the prestigious display of a princely ruler when you step through the tall French windows onto the terrace and admire the sweeping views into the distance.

A trip to the Killesberg takes you to a residential estate that revolutionised the construction of housing and is a pinnacle of German architectural history. How can you use new building materials and rational construction methods to make low-cost housing for modern city residents, while at the same time improving the running of the home and living quality, and how can you adapt architecture to people? In 1927, on the occasion of a building exhibition by the city of Stuttgart and the Deutscher Werkbund, this challenge was addressed by 17 architects – including such masters of the art as Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Peter Behrens and the brothers Max and Bruno Taut, who were then known only in international avant-garde circles. For this task they had a free hand: they could experiment with new building materials and construction methods, and the only given was the flat roof as a sign of modernity. They were responsible for both the building design and the interior fittings as part of an all encompassing programme. In a construction period of only 21 weeks under the artistic direction of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a model estate arose on a terraced slope.