"Posh cars, environmentalists, wine, beer... " a Stuttgart Travel Page by annase

The town was founded ca. 950 by one of the sons of the Roman Emperor Otto I the Great as he wanted to breed horses for his father there. For this reason, the coat of arms of Stuttgart displays a black, rampant horse on a yellow background, which is - not by accident- also featured in the logo for Porsche ;-) Following the same thought of line, the name 'Stuttgart' was originally 'Stutengarten', which in English means roughly a 'stud farm'. It is now is the sixth-largest city in Germany with a population of nearly 600,000. The metropolitan Stuttgart Region has a population of 2.7 million.

The city is set in a valley surrounded by endless forests and vineyards. It is one of the greenest cities in Europe. It is located very close both to the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura (Schwaäbische Alb). There are no hordes of tourists, since the city is more of a centre for high-tech industry and finance. It is the place where the motorbike and the four-wheeled automobile were actually invented in the late 19th century (by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz) and the place where many luxurious cars (Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and the very first prototypes of the eventual VW Beetle) are produced. Many companies have their world or German headquarters here and it is also a home to the second largest stock exchange in Germany after Frankfurt. In addition, Stuttgart is one of Germany's largest wine-growing towns and a home to several breweries. If you are looking for a bit more livelier time, you should visit the city during the Cannstatter Volksfest, Germany's second-largest Oktoberfest celebration.

The city center was heavily damaged during World War II and its aftermath. Nevertheless, many historic buildings have been reconstructed, and the city boasts of some fine pieces of modern post-war architecture.

Stuttgart also has an annual Christmas market. It is one of the largest (more than 3.6 million visitors in 2006) and the oldest in Europe, apparently with a lot of beautiful decorations.