Stuttgart

The Romans built a fort at Cannstatt around AD 90 to guard the Neckar crossing and the vineyards around it. Stuttgart itself traces its name and roots to a stud farm, the Stutengarten, set up around 950 by Duke Liudolf of Swabia in the Nesenbach valley; vines were documented here by 1108. The town passed to the counts of Württemberg in 1251, received its charter in the 1320s, and became the seat of their county, duchy and, from 1805, kingdom. The court left for nearby Ludwigsburg in the 18th century, but returned to build the New Palace, and Schiller studied at the duke's military academy here and finished his play The Robbers.

Industry arrived in the 19th century. Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach built a petrol-engined car in Cannstatt in 1886, Robert Bosch opened his workshop in the city, and the first prototypes of the Volkswagen Beetle were made here to Ferdinand Porsche's designs. The kings of Württemberg left the throne in 1918. Under the Nazis the synagogue was burned and more than 2,000 Jews from across Württemberg were deported from the North Station. Fifty-three air raids destroyed more than half the city's buildings, and the rubble was piled into the Birkenkopf hill.

After the war the first mayor, Arnulf Klett, rebuilt it as a modern car-oriented city, clearing many ruins and surviving streets alike. Stuttgart became the capital of Württemberg-Baden and, in 1952, of the new state of Baden-Württemberg. Guest workers from Italy, Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia came in the post-war economic boom. Since 2010 the Stuttgart 21 rebuilding of the main station has brought large protests, rising costs and repeated delays.

Stuttgart is known above all for its car culture — it calls itself the cradle of the automobile, and the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums are among its best-known sights — but the arts run deep as well. The State Theatre houses an opera company that has repeatedly been named opera of the year and the Stuttgart Ballet, shaped by John Cranko and Marcia Haydée; the Staatsgalerie and the Kunstmuseum hold major collections, and the Weissenhof Estate is a landmark of modern architecture. Hegel was born here, and Schiller and Hölderlin are tied to the city's literary past.

The Cannstatter Volksfest, begun in 1818 by King Wilhelm I and Queen Catherine after a year of famine, is the great popular festival, with a spring version on the same grounds; the Weindorf and the Christmas market fill the old centre. Football is followed closely, with VfB Stuttgart the best-loved club.

Locals call the valley the Kessel, the cauldron, and the city lives between forest and vines, with more than 400 hectares of vineyards inside its boundaries and hundreds of public stairways climbing its slopes. Swabian identity is strong — the dialect, thrift and a love of order and work — even though more than half the population is now not of Swabian background. The city has been mainly Protestant since the Reformation, and the first Waldorf school was founded here in 1919.

About 609,000 people lived in the city at the end of 2025, making it the largest in Baden-Württemberg, and about 2.8 million live in the Stuttgart Region around it. Close to half of the city's residents have a foreign background, with large Turkish, Croatian, Italian and Greek communities, and rents are high.

The economy is built on high technology and engineering. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bosch and Mahle have their headquarters here, along with many medium-sized companies, the second-largest stock exchange in Germany and a dense cluster of universities and research institutes; the region registers more patents than any other in Germany. As capital, the city is also home to the state parliament and ministries, and US military headquarters for Europe and Africa are based in the city.

Daily life follows the hills: commuters ride the Stadtbahn and S-Bahn in from the heights and the Neckar towns, traffic jams are a constant complaint, and air quality in the basin led to a low emission zone in 2008. Weekends go to walks in the forests to the west, the mineral baths, a match at the stadium, or a glass of wine in a vineyard tavern on the slopes.

Stuttgart eats Swabian. Maultaschen, large dumplings of square pasta sheets filled with minced and smoked meat, spinach, breadcrumbs and onion, have protected status in the European Union as a Swabian speciality. Spätzle, an irregular egg pasta with a rough surface, come with almost everything, or as a main dish with cheese and onions. Gaisburger Marsch, named after the Gaisburg district in the east of the city, is beef cooked in strong broth, cut into cubes and served with potatoes and Spätzle, the broth poured over and fried onions on top. Linsen mit Spätzle, lentils cooked in a vinegar broth and served over Spätzle, is another Swabian original.

Wine is the city's own drink. Vines have grown here since at least 1108, and the slopes of Untertürkheim, Rotenberg and Uhlbach lie at the centre of the Württemberg wine region, which is known for its reds. Trollinger, a light-bodied red with fruity strawberry notes, is grown almost only here, and seasonal broom taverns, Besenwirtschaften, run by winemakers sell their own wine with simple cold food. The Weindorf each summer brings the vintages into the city centre.

The city also has a long brewing history, with breweries such as Stuttgarter Hofbräu and Dinkelacker. The Markthalle, an Art Nouveau hall of 1910 in the city centre, is the place for local produce, and pretzels and other lye pastries are sold in every bakery.