Schillerplatz is a square in the old city centre of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

named in honour of the German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

. 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 states of Germany, 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 i ...

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

street market A street market or open-air market, with alternative names such as: market square and sometimes charity market, in cases where the sale is made for charity reasons, is a market that is set up on certain days of the week, generally on the street i ...

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 is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now held in many countries. Some in the U.S. have Phono-semantic matching, adapted ...

. Hidden underneath Schillerplatz's

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on Cobble (geology), cobble-sized stones, and is used for Road surface, pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Sett (paving), Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as " ...

s is an underground car park. The late Gothic ''Fruchtkasten'' building in the corner of Schillerplatz is now used by the State Museum of Württemberg to house a collection of musical instruments. SchillerdenkmalStuttgart-pjt

The Schiller memorial

At the centre of the cobblestone square is a memorial to

which was erected in 1839 by the Danish sculptor

Bertel Thorvaldsen Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...

. 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 is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

). 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 A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. In 1594

Duke Friedrich I Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

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 In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

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 accomm ...

(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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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