Schillerplatz is a square in the old city centre of Stuttgart,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

named in honour of the German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist Friedrich Schiller. Schillerplatz stands to the south west of Stuttgart's main square, Schlossplatz.

Buildings around Schillerplatz

Starting in the south west corner, Schillerplatz is surrounded by the ''Stiftskirche'' (Collegiate Church), the ''Fruchtkasten'' building, the ''Prinzenbau'' (which now houses the

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Ministry of Justice, the ''Alte Kanzlei'' (Old Chancellery) and ''Altes Schloss'' (the Old Castle). A

street market A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic lang ...

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 A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

. Hidden underneath Schillerplatz's cobblestones is an underground car park. The late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

''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 Schiller which was erected in 1839 by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Thorvaldsen's statue was the first memorial to Schiller to be erected in Germany.

History

The first known brick building in Stuttgart - the ''Stuthaus'' or mare house - stood next to the adjacent Stiftskirche (collegiate church). 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 History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

). 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. In 1594 Duke Friedrich I asked his master builder Heinrich Schickhardt to turn today's Schillerplatz into a Renaissance square. 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. In 1607 work began on the ''Gesandtenhaus'' (a type of ambassador's house) which is now known as the ''Prinzenbau'' and was finally completed in 1677. In 1711 the Prinzenbau was extended behind the Old Chancellery with an arch in the northernmost corner of Schillerplatz. On the opposite, southern side of the square between the Old Castle and Stiftskirche the first Stuttgart Café opened in 1712. It was replaced in 1798 by the ''König von England''

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

(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

's most famous writers and intellectuals. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

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. Image:Stuttgart-fruchtkasten.jpg, The ''Fruchtkasten'' building Image:AltesSchlossStuttgart.JPG, The Old Castle Image:Stiftskirche stuttgart.jpg, Schillerplatz around 1900 Image:Schillerplatz.png, Schillerplatz in 1839

References

* Harald Schukraft: ''Stuttgarter Straßen-Geschichte(n)''. German. Silberburg Publishing,

External links

Stuttgart Tourist information on Schillerplatz
{{Authority control Squares in Stuttgart Buildings and structures in Stuttgart Landmarks in Germany Tourist attractions in Stuttgart