Bad Cannstatt | |
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Coordinates: 48°48′20.16″N 9°12′50.76″E / 48.8056000°N 9.2141000°ECoordinates: 48°48′20.16″N 9°12′50.76″E / 48.8056000°N 9.2141000°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Baden-Württemberg |
Admin. region | Stuttgart |
District | Urban district |
City | Stuttgart |
Subdivisions | 19 Boroughs |
Government | |
• Direktor | Bernd-Marcel Loeffler (SPD) |
Area | |
• Total | 15.713 km2 (6.067 sq mi) |
Elevation | 205 m (673 ft) |
Population (2014) | |
• Total | 69,543 |
• Density | 4,400/km2 (11,000/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 70331–70378 |
Dialling codes | 0711 |
Vehicle registration | S |
Website | Stuttgart website |
Bad Cannstatt, also called "Cannstatt" (until July 23, 1933)[1] or "Kannstadt" (until 1900), is one of the outer stadtbezirke, or city districts, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart's districts, and one of the most historically significant towns in the area of Stuttgart.[a] The town is home to the Cannstatter Wasen and Cannstatter Volksfest beer festivals, the Mercedes-Benz Arena (VfB Stuttgart), the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, and the Porsche-Arena.
Bad Cannstatt's name originates from a Castra stativa, Cannstatt Castrum, the massive Roman Castra that was erected on the hilly ridge in AD 90 to protect the valuable river crossing and local trade.[3][4] In the past, Bad Cannstatt has been known as simply Cannstatt or Kannstatt,[5] Cannstadt, Canstatt, Kanstatt, and Condistat.[6] Its name was changed to include "Bad" (German: Bath) to mention the town's spas on 23 July 1933.
Main article: History of Stuttgart |
Bad Cannstatt lies on the Neckar at the convergence of various regional trails.[6] It was founded during the Roman period, although the area was inhabited by the Seelberg mammoth hunters during the last glacial period.[citation needed] The nearby Sielberg is notable for its caverns and fossils.[6]
Records survive of Roman knowledge of the area's springs.[5] The present name first appeared as the seat of a court held by Charlemagne in the 8th century while trying the rebellious dukes of Alemannia and Bavaria. Cannstatt was the capital of the county of Württemberg into the 14th[5] or 15th century;[6] the Rotenberg was the location of the ruling house's ancestral castle.[5] Cannstatt subsequently formed part of the duchy, electorate, and kingdom of Württemberg. It lay about 2.5 miles (4 km) from Stuttgart proper,[6] although it has since grown to include Bad Cannstatt. In the 13th or 14th century, Louis the Bavarian expanded its rights and privileges to equality with Esslingen. Its 15th-century cathedral was dedicated to St Uffo.[6] In 1755, the Great Lisbon earthquake caused the town hall to subside about 3 feet (1 m).[7] During the wars which followed the French Revolution, the town was the site on 21 July 1796 of a French victory over the Austrian Empire.[5]
In the 19th century, it boasted an attractive town hall, a royal theater, a market house, the Wilhelma and Rosenstein palaces, and extensive industry including wool-spinning, dyeing, steelmaking, and construction of machinery. There were then about 40 mineral springs, which were considered beneficial for "dyspepsia and weakness of the nervous system",[6] as well as "diseases of the throat".[5] Cannstatt was the site of Gottlieb Daimler's invention of the first petroleum-fueled automobile in 1886[8] and housed an automotive factory before the First World War. Around that time, it also had notable railway and chemical works and a brewery. Cannstatt was incorporated into Stuttgart in 1904.[5]
Of the 19 surviving mineral springs, 11 are recognized as state wells.[clarification needed] In the world, it is now second to only Újbuda in Budapest, Hungary, in scale.[9] The Mombach spring is the only one that releases its water without pressure in large quantities; its outflow is used in the adjacent baths and the Wilhelma spa.[citation needed]
Famous people associated with Bad-Cannstatt include: