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 outer Stuttgart Region has a population of 2.67 million.
Stuttgart lies close to both the Black Forest and 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). Stuttgart with its metropolitan area (the political entity "Stuttgart Region" enlarged by the nearby cities of Ludwigsburg, Böblingen, Esslingen, Waiblingen, Göppingen and their respective districts) is one of the most prominent and well-known German towns, especially due to its cultural, administrative and economic importance.
The Stuttgart Region is the nation's fourth largest conurbation (behind Ruhr Area, Rhine/Main Area and Berlin). Neighbouring large cities are Frankfurt (210 km north of Stuttgart), Nuremberg (200 km northeast of Stuttgart) and Munich (220 km southeast of Stuttgart).
The motorbike and four-wheel automobile were invented in Stuttgart (by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz; industrialised in 1887 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach at the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft). As a result it is considered by many to be the starting point of the worldwide automotive industry, and is referred to as "The cradle of the automobile". Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Maybach are all produced in Stuttgart and nearby towns. The very first prototypes of the VW Beetle were manufactured in Stuttgart, based on a design by Ferdinand Porsche.
The region currently has Germany's highest density of scientific, academic and research organizations, and tops the national league for patent applications. [citation needed] More than 11% of all R&D-expenses in the Federal Republic of Germany are generated in the Stuttgart Region (approximately 4.3 billion Euro per year). In addition to several universities and colleges (i.a. University of Stuttgart, University of Hohenheim and the several branches of the University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart), the area has six institutes of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, four institutes for collaborative industrial research at local universities, two Max-Planck Institutes, as well as one large-scale research centre—the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
Stuttgart holds top place of all European Union regions according to the share of employment in high-tech and medium-high tech manufacturing with a figure of 21.0% (2001 data from Eurostat).
The Stuttgart Stock Exchange is the second largest in Germany (second only to Frankfurt Stock Exchange) and important financial companies are headquartered in Stuttgart (e.g. LBBW Bank or Wüstenrot&Württembergische, and Allianz Life Insurance), as well. In addition to these global players, the Stuttgart economy consists of many highly versatile and dynamic medium-sized enterprises (the so-called "Mittelstand").
Furthermore, Stuttgart is still one of Germany's largest wine-growing towns with a century-long tradition and is situated at the geographic center of the "Württemberg Wine Growing Area" (110.30 km², one of 13 official German growing areas, according to the German Wine Law), and also celebrates an annual wine festival called "weindorf". Stuttgart is also home to several famous breweries, such as Stuttgarter Hofbräu, Dinkelacker, and Schwabenbräu.
From Wikipedia, the free encyklopedia (stuttgart) |
