STUTTGART

city, capital (1945) of Baden-Wrttemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany, astride the Neckar River, in a forested vineyard-and-orchard setting in historic Swabia. It lies between the Black Forest on the west and the Swabian Jura to the south. There were prehistoric settlements and a Roman fort in the area of Bad Cannstatt (a suburb), but Stuttgart itself originated as a Stuotgarten, a Gestt, or stud farm, set up c. 950. A wine industry developed, and Stuttgart received civic rights after passing to the counts of Wrttemberg in the 13th century. It became the principal residence of the counts c. 1320 and after 1482 was successively the capital of the Wrttemberg county, duchy, kingdom, and Land. Prosperity in the 16th century was followed by a decline during the Thirty Years' War (161848) and the French invasions of Louis XIV (168184), from which it did not recover until the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century caused rapid expansion. The city centre was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Historic buildings in the city, most of them rebuilt since 1945, include the old castle (13th century; rebuilt 155378), housing the Landesmuseum; the new palace (17461807); the Rosenstein Palace (182429), now the natural history museum; the Gothic St. Leonard's Church (146374), of the hall type; and the Stiftskirche (collegiate church), a 12th-century Romanesque basilica completed in the Gothic style (143695). Outside the city centre are Solitude Palace (176367) to the west, and Hohenheim Palace (176885) to the south, now occupied by the College of Agriculture. Examples of modern architecture include the Weissenhof Estate (1927), the town hall (195456), the 633-ft (193-m) television tower (1955), and Stuttgarter Liederhall (concert and congress hall, built in 195456). There is a technological college and academies for art, music, and architecture. Stuttgart is the site of the state art gallery, archives, library, observatory, opera, ballet, and the Wilhelma Botanical and Zoological Gardens. Stuttgart University was founded in 1829. The Daimler-Benz, Mercedes-Benz automobile factory (one of the world's oldest) and museum are in the suburb of Untertrkheim. The suburbs of Bad Cannstatt and Berg are health centres with many mineral springs, from which are exported bottled mineral water, and the famous Cannstatter Folk Festival is held in the Cannstatter Wasen (Cannstatt Meadows) every autumn. An important rail junction on the natural route connecting the Danube with northern Germany and the Rhine, Stuttgart has a port (opened in 1958) and an international airport. It is the centre of the largest industrial zone in southwestern Germany and holds various trade fairs and congresses. Electrical engineering and motor vehicle and machine construction are of primary importance, and textiles, clothing, precision instruments (cameras, optical equipment), beer, luxury wooden and leather goods, shoes, musical instruments, chemicals, and paper are manufactured. Stuttgart is well known as a book centre and has numerous printing works and more than 200 publishing houses. One of the largest wine-producing communes (groups of growers who bring their grapes to a central location for processing and distribution) in Germany, it has an extensive wine and fruit trade. Pop. (1989 est.) 562,658. city, northern district seat of Arkansas county (the southern seat is De Witt), east-central Arkansas, U.S., about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Little Rock. Settled in 1878 by Lutheran minister Adam Buerkle (born in Stuttgart, Germany) and his congregation, the city was incorporated in 1889, raised to a city of the second class in 1897, and to that of the first class in 1917. Stuttgart has long been an agricultural and trading centre and the growing, processing, packaging, and marketing of rice is the mainstay of the economy; other locally produced crops include soybeans, wheat, and oats. Cattle and fish production are also important, as is the manufacture of heating and cooling equipment. Biotechnology is of increasing significance, with several research facilities (conducting studies on fish, rice, cotton, and soybeans) in the vicinity. White River National Wildlife Refuge is 28 miles (45 km) southeast. Stuttgart is well known for its duck hunting, notably at Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area, about 15 miles (24 km) southwest. Pop. (1990) 10,420; (1998 est.) 9,797. Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), northeastern Baden-Wrttemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. Stuttgart is bordered by Bavaria Land to the north and east and the Regierungsbezirke of Tbingen to the south and Karlsruhe to the west. The largest of four districts in Baden-Wrttemberg, it is coextensive with portions of the larger historic regions of Swabia and Franconia. From the 12th century the Wrttembergs, a local dynasty of counts, gained control over large sections of this territory. The Wrttemberg lands successively became a duchy, a kingdom, and a republic. In 1952 three post-World War II states of West GermanyWrttemberg-Baden, Wrttemberg-Hohenzollern, and Badenwere merged to form the present Land of Baden-Wrttemberg. Eastern Wrttemberg-Baden, roughly encompassing the current district of Stuttgart, became the new Land's northeastern Regierungsbezirk of Nordwrttemberg. In 1973 an administrative reform altered the boundaries of Nordwrttemberg and changed its name to Stuttgart, after the administrative seat of the district and the largest city and capital of the Land. Stuttgart lies in the Neckarland, a region comprising three major physical features: the Gau plateaus, the Keuper sandstone hills, and the Lias foreland. The open lowlands of the Gau plateaus extend from the district's southwestern corner between the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) and the Swabian Jura (Schwbische Alb) toward the northeast, becoming wider and merging smoothly with the Franconian plateaus of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken). The deep valleys of the north-flowing Neckar River, its tributaries the Enz, Kocher, and Jagst, and the Tauber River divide the region into a series of fertile, loess-covered plains, their landscapes dominated by closely-spaced farm villages surrounded by arable land. Sheltered by the uplands of the Black Forest, the plains have a relatively dry and warm climate, permitting the growth of sugar beets, hops, tobacco, potatoes, asparagus, and other field vegetables. Wheat, barley, and corn (maize) are also produced but in quantities below maximum potential, given the pattern and scale of regional farmsteads. Few farms are large enough to support full-time farmers, because of centuries of repeated subdivision of landholdings among family heirs. Many landowners are forced to seek employment in nearby industrial towns, farming their fertile fields only on a limited scale. The Gau plateaus end to the south and east against the escarpment of the Keuper sandstone hills. River valleys have carved the Keuper region into many separate ridges. The Schurwald, Welzheimer Wald, Lwensteiner Berge, Mainhardter Wald, Limpurger Berge, and Waldenburger Berge are located east of the Neckar, and beyond these the Ellwanger Berge form a transition to the Franconian Terrace of Middle Franconia (Mittelfranken). The outlying ranges of the Stromberg and Heuchelberg lie west of the Neckar, and the Schnbuch in the southwest. The hills are almost completely covered with coniferous forests of spruce mixed with beech and oak. The lower slopes along the escarpment are planted in vineyards and orchards, while meadow covers the steep-sided valleys among the hills. The Lias foreland, a belt of open farmland, is situated along the district's southern border between the Keuper hills and the Swabian Jura. Fruit and large cabbages used in the manufacture of sauerkraut are local specialty crops. The town of Schwbisch-Gmnd has a traditional specialization in the manufacture of precious metals and jewelry. Aalen is noted for its famous optical works. Industry in the district is heavily concentrated in the densely populated valley of the Neckar and along its eastern tributaries, the Fils and Rems rivers. The city of Stuttgart has become the centre of the largest industrial zone in southwestern Germany and a major transportation junction despite its inconvenientbut beautifulsite. Located in a basin enclosed by the Keuper hills, the city has only one outlet to the Neckar valley, to the northeast. Stuttgart's industries produce motor vehicles, electrical equipment, machinery, precision instruments, and textiles. It is a leading book-publishing centre and supports an extensive fruit and wine trade as well. Heilbronn, located north of Stuttgart on the canalized Neckar River, is the second largest city of the district and manufactures machinery, motor vehicles, and electrical equipment. Heilbronn is the centre of an important wine-producing region and also processes agricultural commodities from the rich Gau plateaus. The boundary between the Swabian and Franconian cultural regions runs approximately from Heilbronn east to Crailsheim along the northern edge of the wooded Keuper hills. The native population of the district's southern half are Swabians, descendants of the Suebi, a Germanic people who occupied the territory from the 3rd century AD. The Franconians of northern Stuttgart are descendants of the Franks, a Germanic people who settled the region from the early 6th century. Two of three main German dialects in Baden-Wrttemberg are spoken in Stuttgart, Swabian in the south and Franconian in the north. The predominant rural housing pattern on the Gau plateaus is one of compact villages. Small hamlets and dispersed farmsteads are more common in the forests of the Keuper hills. Higher education in the Regierungsbezirk is centred in the city of Stuttgart and includes the Universitt Stuttgart, the Universitt Hohenheim, a college of vocational education, and a number of specialized academies of the arts. In late September the Cannstatt Folk Festival attracts many visitors to the city, especially those of Swabian descent. The population of the district is predominantly Protestant. Area 4,076 square miles (10,558 square km). Pop. (1996 est.) 3,862,300.