Schillerplatz (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 ....
, Germany
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...
named in honour of the German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
. Schillerplatz stands to the south west of Stuttgart's main square, Schlossplatz
Schlossplatz, Stuttgart
Schlossplatz is the largest square in the centre of the city of Stuttgart and home to the New Castle which was built between 1746 and 1807....
.
Buildings around Schillerplatz
Starting in the south west corner, Schillerplatz is surrounded by the Stiftskirche (the Collegiate Church)Stiftskirche (Stuttgart)
The Stiftskirche Stuttgart is an inner-city church in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the main church of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg as well as the parish church of the evangelical inner-city church district of Stuttgart.-History and...
, the Fruchtkasten building, the Prinzenbau (which now houses the 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...
Ministry of Justice, the Alte Kanzlei (Old Chancellery) and Altes Schloss (the Old Castle)
Old Castle (Stuttgart)
The Old Castle is located in the centre of Stuttgart, the capital of the German State of Baden-Württemberg. It dates back to the 10th century....
.
A street market
Street market
A street market is an outdoor market such as traditionally held in a market square or in a market town, and often held only on particular days of the week...
takes place twice a week on Schillerplatz. The square is also used for major events taking place on Marktplatz (Stuttgart's Market Square) such as the annual Christmas Market
Christmas Market
A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent...
. Hidden underneath Schillerplatz's cobblestone
Cobblestone
Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size...
s is an underground car park.
The late Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
Fruchtkasten building in the corner of Schillerplatz is now used by the State Museum of Württemberg to house a collection of musical instruments.
The Schiller memorial
At the centre of the cobblestone square is a memorial to Friedrich SchillerFriedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
which was erected in 1839 by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...
. Thorvaldsen's statue was the first memorial to Schiller to be erected in Germany.
History
Stiftskirche (Stuttgart)
The Stiftskirche Stuttgart is an inner-city church in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the main church of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg as well as the parish church of the evangelical inner-city church district of Stuttgart.-History and...
. It is therefore supposed that the square was originally used as a horse breeding area around 1000 years ago (in keeping with Stuttgart's history). After the 12th century the square was probably covered in simple houses before other stone houses such as the Fruchtkasten were built. In the mid-14th century the Dürnitzbau wing of the Old Castle (next to Schillerplatz) was erected. The Old Chancellery was built in 1542 shortly before completion of the Arkadenflügel wing of the Old Castle. The area between the Old Castle and the Chancellery became a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
.
In 1594 Duke Friedrich I
Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg
Friedrich I of Württemberg was the son of Georg of Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse....
asked his master builder Heinrich Schickhardt to turn today's Schillerplatz into a Renaissance square
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...
. Residents' houses were bought and demolished. The new square was laid with cobblestones and called 'Castle and Chancellery Square'. The dimensions of the square have not changed since.
Old Castle (Stuttgart)
The Old Castle is located in the centre of Stuttgart, the capital of the German State of Baden-Württemberg. It dates back to the 10th century....
and Stiftskirche
Stiftskirche (Stuttgart)
The Stiftskirche Stuttgart is an inner-city church in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the main church of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg as well as the parish church of the evangelical inner-city church district of Stuttgart.-History and...
the first Stuttgart Café opened in 1712. It was replaced in 1798 by the König von England inn (King of England Inn). This was shortly after the moat surrounding the Old Castle had finally been filled in leaving the square the way it stands today.
The square was officially renamed Schillerplatz in 1934 in memory of one 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...
's most famous writers and intellectuals.
During the Second World War of the buildings around Schillerplatz were burnt down but all were reconstructed after the war with the exception of the King of England Inn.
The underground car park was built in 1972-3.
External references
- Harald Schukraft: Stuttgarter Straßen-Geschichte(n). German. Silberburg Publishing, ISBN 3-925344-05-5