Germany, Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 595,452 while the metropolitan area referred to as Stuttgart Region has a population of 3.46 million (both: February 2007.)

History

Ca. 950, Stuttgart was founded by Duke Liudolf of Swabia, one of the sons of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I the Great, and used for horse breeding (especially for his father's cavalry, see Battle of Lechfeld).

Ca. 1300, Stuttgart became the residence of the Counts of Württemberg. In 1496, the counts were promoted to dukes by the Holy Roman Emperor.

Geography

Stuttgart lies about an hour from the Black Forest and a similar distance from the Swabian Jura. The city center, situated in a lush valley, ringed with vineyards and forests, close to the River Neckar, covers an area of 207 square kilometres (80 sq mi).

Economy

Approximately 150,000 companies are located in the Stuttgart region.[citation needed] The area is known for its high-tech industry; some of its most prominent companies include Daimler AG, Porsche, Bosch, Celesio, Hewlett-Packard and IBM all of whom located their world or German headquarters here.

People, culture, and architecture

Stuttgart is known for its cultural life, in particular the Staatstheater and Staatsgalerie. The Staatstheater contains an opera house and three smaller theaters, where opera, ballet, theatre and concerts are produced.

The city also offers two broadway-style Musical theaters, the Apollo and the Palladium Theater (each approx. 1800 seats).

Sports

In 1992, VfB Stuttgart (a leading Bundesliga soccer team) claimed the first German Championship title after the reunification of the soccer federations of West and East Germany (its fourth championship overall).

The city also has a reputation for organizing other major sports events. It hosted the 1993 World Championships in Athletics and many other world and European championships of all kind of sports.

Transportation

Local transport
Stuttgart has a light rail system, known as the Stuttgart Stadtbahn, which has incrementally replaced the city's tram lines.
Air links
Stuttgart is served by Stuttgart Airport (in German Flughafen Stuttgart), which is an international airport located approximately 8 miles (13 km) south of the city centre in the neighbouring town of Leinfelden-Echterdingen.
Rail links
Stuttgart is a hub in the InterCityExpress and InterCity networks of Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG), with through services to Berlin and most other major German cities. There are also international services to Strasbourg, Paris, Vienna and Zurich.
Road links
The motorway Autobahn A8 (Luxemburg - Saarbrücken - Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Munich - Salzburg - Vienna) forms the southern boundary of the city.