Stuttgart is such a museum rich city that you could spend a week just visiting museums ranging in themes from modern art to transportation. All of Stuttgart's museums are fascinating, but some are incredible to see before you even step foot inside.
Stuttgart is a city rife with innovation and invention that reaches far past its automobile history. When walking down the streets you will notice unique buildings from all different historical eras and architectural styles. The range of architecture is vast from Stuttgart's Market Hall built in the Art Noveau style to the Modern Art Museum building that resembles a large modern glass cube. Stuttgart has a history of being on the forefront of architecture, for example, the first Television Tower was built here and has been replicated all over the world. In 2016, two of Le Corbusier's buildings at the Weissenhof Estate were newly named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of course, the classic and beautiful Old Palace and New Palace will make you stop and admire the attention to detail the palace boasts.
Stuttgart's new public library, or Stadtbibliothek, was built in 2011 and designed by Eun Young Yi, a Korean architect. The library towers over the Mailänder square, standing at 130ft high. Grey and unpretentious by day, the building's façade incorporates countless glass blocks that makes its glow at night in an iridescent blue. When you enter the building, the entrance way is a 45 sq. ft. high empty hall lit only by the overhead window. The 330 sq. ft. of empty space is the heart of the building that offsets the every day hustle of the city. The word, "Library," is inscribed in silver letters in English on the west wall, German in the north, Korean in the east and Arabic on the south, symbolizing that the cultural center is open to people of every nation.
Stuttgart's signature Television Tower soaring over the city is an innovative masterpiece. Built 60 years ago, it is one of the city's main landmarks. At the time of construction, many people had doubts as to the stability of the first tower made with reinforced concrete, but it has not only proved to be stable but it has since been imitated all over the world. Visitors can go up the 710ft. high tower and see sweeping views over the Neckar Valley with its vineyards, the Swabian Alb, the Black Forest and the Odenwald. After these incredible views, head to Leonhardt's Restaurant at the bottom of the TV Tower and enjoy regional Swabian cuisine.
In 1927, Stuttgart's Weissenhof Estate was built under the theme, "Form without Ornament," compared to the popular Art Nouveau style that used highly decorated forms. This new modernism showed the aesthetic, social and technical upheavals of the twentieth century. The Weissenhof Estate is one of the most significant landmarks left by the movement, "Neues Bauen." It was built as an architectural exhibition for the city of Stuttgart and the Deutscher Werkbund (German Work Federation). The artistic director, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, worked with seventeen architects including Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Hans Scharoun to create a housing program for modern city dwellers. On Sunday, July 17, 2016, two Le Corbusier houses at the Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart finally earned the title, "UNESCO World Heritage Site." This is the first World Heritage Site for Stuttgart and the 41st for Germany. The museum is currently open for visitors and is popular with young architecture students and history lovers.
In contrast to the modernism of the Weissenhof Estate, the Stuttgart Market Hall was built in the ornamental Art Nouveau style in 1911-1914. Today, the beautiful hall is a Stuttgart protected monument where visitors can enjoy the architecture while visiting the weekly market. In 1971, the Stuttgart Market Hall was almost torn down to build a new hall with a multifunctional center. Thankfully, the town council decided to save the unique hall in its original style.
Stuttgart is such a museum rich city that you could spend a week just visiting museums ranging in themes from modern art to transportation. All of Stuttgart's museums are fascinating, but some are incredible to see before you even step foot inside. The Stuttgart Museum of Art is one of the most distinct architectural buildings in the city, sometimes called a "Glass Cube." Designed by Berlin architectural bureau Hascher + Jehle in 2005, the designers hoped to create a, "calm, elegant building that is clearly anchored in our time." They decided on a free standing structure in the form of a glass cube, enclosing another cube of stone where the exhibition rooms are housed. On any given day, the glass structure reflects the sun and weather and is a beauty to behold for passersby. Far from modern, the Old State Gallery (1838 - 1843) commissioned by King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, is one of Germany's oldest museum buildings. Adjoining it is the world-famous New State Gallery, built in the year 1984 to a design of the Scottish star architect James Stirling. It is regarded as a prime example of Postmodernist architecture.
Stuttgart's most famous invention is the automobile and visitors love to visit the world famous Mercedes Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum, but these amazing museums are not only famous for their contents but their exteriors as well. The Mercedes Benz Museum was built in 2006 and designed by Ben van Berkel's, "UN Studio," one of the most innovative architecture bureaus in Europe. The basic structure of the museum resembles a trefoil, creating a triangular atrium at its center around which the exhibition rooms are grouped. Visitors can experience more than 130 years of automobile innovation walking through these rooms.
The Porsche Museum was built in 2009 and designed by Austrian architecture firm, Delugan Meissl Associated Architects. Porsche is a "rolling museum," which means all the cars on display are still running and are switched out often to go to different car shows. Before you even see the cars, the building itself is eye catching: it appears to be suspended above the ground. The 5,600 square meter exhibition area is supported solely on three reinforced concrete cores. The museums captivate their visitors with history, design and incredible speed.
