Stuttgart - City of Germany

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.The city lies at the centre of a heavily populated area, circled by a ring of smaller towns. The inner urban area has a population of 2.7 million making 'greater Stuttgart' the fifth biggest city region in Germany after the Ruhr Area, Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt.

Stuttgart is spread across a variety of hills, valleys and parks - unusual for German cities and often a cause of surprise to visitors who primarily associate the city with its industrial reputation as the "Cradle of the automobile".

Stuttgart has a continental climate. In the summer months, the nearby Black Forest and Swabian Alb hills act as a shield from severe weather but the city can also be subject to thunderstorms in the summer months and periods of snow lasting several days in the winter. The centre of the city, referred to by locals as the "Kessel" experiences more severe heat in the summer and less snow in the winter than the suburbs. Lying as it does at the centre of the European continent, the temperature range between day and night or summer and winter can be extreme. On average Stuttgart enjoys 1693 hours of sunshine per year.

The first known settlement of Stuttgart was around the end of the 1st century AD with the establishment of a Roman fort in the modern district of Cannstatt on the banks of the river Neckar. The Romans withdrew in around 260 AD following the invasion of the Alamanni from the north. Although nothing is known about Cannstatt during the period of Barbarian Invasion it is believed that the area remained inhabited as it is mentioned in Abbey of St. Gall archives dating back to 700 AD.

In 1803, Stuttgart was proclaimed capital of Württemberg Kurfürstentum until Napoleon Bonaparte's breakup of the Holy Roman Empire in 1805 when Stuttgart became capital of the Kingdom of Württemberg. The royal residence was expanded under Frederick I of Württemberg although many of Stuttgart's most important buildings, including the Wilhelm Palace, Katharina Hospital, the State Gallery, the Villa Berg and the Königsbau were built under the reign of King Wilhelm I.

During the Cold War, Stuttgart became home to the joint command centre of all United States military forces in Europe, Africa and the Atlantic . EUCOM is still headquartered there today. U.S. Army bases in and around Stuttgart include or included the following: Patch Barracks, Robinson Barracks, Panzer Kaserne, Kelley Barracks.

Stuttgart's coat of arms shows a black horse on its hind legs on a yellow background. It was first used in its current format in 1938; prior to this various designs and colours had been used, often with two horses. The canting seal pictured here reflects the origin of the name "Stuttgart". The name in Old High German was "stuotgarten", with "stuot" cognate with the Old English term "stod" . The Old High German term "garten" referred to the compound on the site of the original settlement. The logo of the Porsche automobile company features a modified version of Stuttgart's coat of arms at its centre.

Stuttgart is known for its strong cultural heritage, in particular its State Theatre and State Gallery . The Staatstheater is home to the State opera and three smaller theatres and it regularly stages opera, ballet and theatre productions as well as concerts. The Staatstheater was named Germany/Austria/Switzerland "Theatre of the year" in 2006; Stuttgart Opera has won the "Opera of the year" award six times. Stuttgart Ballet is connected to names like John Cranko and Marcia Haydée.

Stuttgart is home to five of the eleven state museums in Baden-Württemberg. The foremost of these is the old State Gallery which holds art dating from the 14th to 19th century including works by Rubens, Rembrandt, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne and Beuys. Next door to the Old State Gallery is the New State Gallery with its controversial modern architecture. Among others, this gallery houses works from Max Beckmann, Dalí, Matisse, Miró, Picasso, Klee, Chagall and Kandinsky.

Stuttgart is the seat of a Protestant bishop and one of the two co-seats of the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. The Stuttgart-based pentecostal Biblische Glaubens-Gemeinde is the largest place of worship in Germany.

Wine-growing in the area goes back to 1108 when, according to State archives, Blaubeuren Abbey was given vineyards in Stuttgart as a gift from "Monk Ulrich". In the 17th century the city was the third largest German wine-growing community in the Holy Roman Empire. Wine remained Stuttgart's leading source of income well into the 19th century