The Old Palace was originally the seat of the first counts and dukes of Württemberg. It is now home to the Württemberg State Museum. Each year its inner courtyard is the setting for the official opening of the Stuttgart Wine Village and the Christmas Market. The Museum of Art, a 27-m-high glass cube, is no less of an eye-catcher at night, when it sets the concrete core of its interior aglow, radiating light into Palace Square. The museum's collection comprises over 15 000 works of art from the late 18th century up to the present day.
Diagonally opposite is the Kunstgebäude gallery, its cupola surmounted by a golden stag, where regular exhibitions of contemporary art are staged by the Württemberg Art Association. The original building was destroyed in WW II and rebuilt to plans by the architect Paul Bonatz, who also designed the main railway station. Between the Kunstgebäude and the New Palace are the Upper Palace Gardens. Here, a sombre structure with a steel skeleton frame catches the eye: the Landtag, seat of Baden- Württemberg's parliament. Built in the 1950s, it was purposely designed in a style that would not detract from the classical architecture of the Opera House and State Theatre.
If you prefer shopping to culture, you'll be in your element in Königstraße, Germany's longest shopping precinct, which takes you past Palace Square and also the Königsbau, Stuttgart's oldest shopping arcade.
Free WiFi on the Schlossplatz Stuttgart (Palace Square)
Schlossplatz Stuttgart
Schlossplatz
70173 Stuttgart
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