- Schillerplatz (Stuttgart)
Schillerplatz is a square in the old city centre of
Stuttgart ,Germany named in honour of the German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatistFriedrich 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" (the Collegiate Church), the "Fruchtkasten" building, the "Prinzenbau" (which now houses the
Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Justice, the "Alte Kanzlei" (Old Chancellery) and "Altes Schloss" (the Old Castle).A
street market 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 annualChristmas Market . Hidden underneath Schillerplatz'scobblestone 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 colletion of musical instruments.
The Schiller memorial
At the centre of the cobblestone square is a memorial to
Friedrich Schiller which was erected in1839 by the Danish sculptorBertel 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). 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 .de]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.de]
(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.de]
The square was officially renamed Schillerplatz in 1934 in memory of one of
Baden-Württemberg 's most famous writers and intellectuals.de]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 "Kind of England Inn".The underground car park was built in 1972-3.
References
External references
*
Harald Schukraft : "Stuttgarter Straßen-Geschichte(n)". German.Silberburg Publishing, ISBN 3-925344-05-5
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