Old Castle (Stuttgart)
Encyclopedia
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 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, the capital of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
State of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
. It dates back to the 10th century.
The first castle dated back to around 950 when Stuttgart was a settlement for breeding horses. In the 14th century it became the residence of the sovereign Counts of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
. In the 16th century dukes Christopher
Christoph, Duke of Württemberg
Christoph of Württemberg, Duke of Württemberg ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1550 until his death in 1568....
and Ludwig ordered it to be converted into a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
castle. Moats around the castle were removed in the 18th century.
In 1931 the castle was severely damaged by a fire and before it could be reconstructed it was damaged by bombing in the Second World War. The castle was finally renovated in 1969.
Today the Old Castle is home to the Württemberg State Museum
Landesmuseum Württemberg
The Landesmuseum Württemberg is the main historical museum of the Württemberg part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It emerged from the 16th century “Kunstkammer” of the dukes, later kings, of Württemberg who resided in Stuttgart...
.
King Charles I of Württemberg
Charles I of Württemberg
Charles was the third King of Württemberg, from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.-Early life:He was born 6 March 1823 at Stuttgart, as HRH Charles Frederick Alexander, Crown Prince of Württemberg the son of William I, King of Württemberg and his third wife Pauline Therese of Württemberg .He...
and his wife Olga are buried beneath the castle church. The inner courtyard houses a monument to Eberhard I
Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg
Eberhard I of Württemberg . From 1459 till 1495 he was Count Eberhard V. From July 1495 he was the first Duke of Württemberg. He is also known as Eberhard im Bart ....
. The Old Castle stands adjacent to its replacement, the New Castle
New Castle (Stuttgart)
The New Palace is a building which stands on the south edge of Schlossplatz, the central square in Stuttgart, Germany. The castle is built in late Baroque style....
, which was built in the late 18th century.
On the Karlsplatz side of the Old Castle is a museum dedicated to the memory of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg commonly referred to as Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer and Catholic aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from...
a former resident of Stuttgart who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
on 20 July 1944
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
.
Gallery
External links
- http://www.landesmuseum-stuttgart.de
- Altes Schloss Stadt-Panorama - Interactive 360° Panorama of the Old Castle