Schloss Leonberg was founded in 1248 by count Ulrich I of Württemberg. The original castle was modified between 1560 and 1565 by the master builder Aberlin Tretsch by order of the duke Christoph.





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Castle Solitude (English: Loneliness) is a Rococo Schloss (German: palace) (thus not a true castle) and hunting retreat commissioned by Duke Charles Eugene, designed by Johann Friedrich Weyhing and Philippe de La Guêpière, and constructed from 1764-69. Since 1956 the area is part of the urban district of Stuttgart-West despite the castle being located just southeast of the town of Gerlingen. Solitude is located on an elongated ridge between the towns of Leonberg, Gerlingen and Stuttgart. The castle offers views to the north over the towns of Weilimdorf, Korntal and Ludwigsburg and the Württemberg lowlands around Ludwigsburg.

On April 1, 1942, Schloss Solitude was incorporated into Stuttgart. Since 1956, Schloss Solitude has been part of Stuttgart-West.

The construction period was characterized by political and financial adversity. The Schloss was commissioned Duke Charles Eugene as a refugium, a place of quiet reflection and solitude (he had recently made the questionable decision to take Württemberg into the Seven Years' War on the losing side against Prussia). The Duke hired a commission of architects led by Philippe de La Guêpière and planning began in 1763. Problems arose, however: money from the Duke was running low (construction costs were already exceeding what the Duchy had allocated), and construction stalled. Further political struggles between the Duke and influential Stuttgart land barons led to the Duke temporarily abandoning Stuttgart in favor of the palace in Ludwigsburg. The Duke shifted his attention to Hohenheim in 1775. In the long run, the castle was prohibitively expensive to keep just as a temporary residence.

A high school was founded inside the palace in 1770 and the Karlsschule (German: Karl's high school) established a school and orphanage for studying military practice and the arts in Castle Solitude (Later, it would become a university where children of the elite could study military practice and the arts) High maintenance costs led to the closure of the school following the Duke's death in the late 18th century.

Solitude was abandoned in the 20th Century, the gardens fell into disrepair, and the ceiling frescoes by Nicolas Guibal were largely destroyed by water damage. Between 1972 and 1983, the Federal Republic of Germany renovated the castle and the frescoes were restored. From May 1968 to 1986, was located in today's academy building an autonomous dorm. Many of the residents were musicians, actors and dancers, were added social workers, architects and engineers. They got together and organized concerts, jazz sessions, dance theater and other art projects. Professor K.R.H. Sonderborg from the Stuttgart Art Academy, the conductor Manfred Schreier and the actress Bettina copper were frequent guests.

Since 1990, the annexed buildings (Officen and Kavaliers-buildings) have housed the Akademie Schloss Solitude. The Kavaliers building incorporates living quarters for students.

Here too is Graevenitz Museum housed. It displays works by the Stuttgart sculptor Fritz von Graevenitz (1892-1959)

After 1903, Castle Solitude was the finishing point of hill races. In later years, the grounds of the castle served as a hostel for drivers. From 1935 to 1965, the 11.3-kilometre (7.0 mi) Solituderennen course south of the castle was used for World Championship motorcycle Grand Prix racing. From 1961 to 1965, a series of non-championship Formula 1 races were also held on the same weekends, welcoming drivers such as John Surtees, Jim Clark, Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham. In their heyday, the Solitude races attracted crowds of 288,000 spectators, but they were discontinued in 1966.

Castle Solitude was designed by a working group at the ducal court under the guidance of Philippe de La Guêpière with active input from Duke Karl Eugen and master craftsmen. Its exterior is typical Rococo. On the inside, however, the style is characteristic of classicism: instead of the irregular lively forms typical of Rococo, the proportions of the rooms and wall are typically classical in design.

The northern main gate of the castle marks the beginning of Solitudeallee, a partially tree-lined straight avenue leads directly to Ludwigsburg over 13 kilometres (8 mi). Duke Karl-Eugen commissioned the building of the avenue from 1764 to 1768 as a connecting route to the residence palace in Ludwigsburg. The avenue, which is still largely intact today, leads via Stuttgart-Weilimdorf past Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Stuttgart-Stammheim. Only in Weilimdorf, where it intersects the main street, and in Ludwigsburg, where it is interrupted by the railway, are there minor irregularities. According to a plaque inside the castle, the avenue served as the baseline for the Württemberg land survey of 1820 and measures exactly 40,118.718 Paris feet or 13,032.14 metres (42,756.4 ft).

In 2003, a revival competition was staged in and around the castle with former competitors and ex-world champions such as Giacomo Agostini. A rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of races was held in 2004.

The area of Castle Solitude first belonged to Weilimdorf. After the middle of the 19th century it belonged to Gerlingen until the 31st of March 1942, at which point it was assigned to the suburb of Botnang before being integrated into the district of Stuttgart-West in 1956.

The most notable alumni to attend the Karlsschule at Solitude was Friedrich Schiller. It was here that a young Schiller turned his life around and discovered Poetry.
Schiller's father, Johann Caspar Schiller, was also enrolled at the Karlsschule. He served as the Head Gardner of the Ducal palace.

Castle Solitude

Nippenburg, both the ruined castle built on a mountain spur overlooking the Glems river valley and the farming village it was constructed at, is located 295 m above sea level (NN) and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from Stuttgart's city center near the town of Schwieberdingen. The oldest record of the Nippenburg's existence is from the Codex Hirsaugiensis of 1160, making it among the very oldest castles in the vicinity of Stuttgart. Today, all that remains of the castle is the high curtain wall and outer bailey, and a large barn built in 1483 thanks to a short lived effort in the early 1980s to restore these items.

The Nippenburg was built by a local family of Knights in the Twelfth Century, though it could have been originally built in the 9th Century.

In the 17th Century, the castle was positioned favorably: lying on a mountain spur over-half the Glems valley and built in direct proximity to the manor-house lock Nippenburg. In following centuries the castle was heavily quarried and abandoned. The ruins are with high walls and fortifications as well as a substantial scrub. In the 1980s, the building was partially restored to its 1483 condition.



Nippenburg

The Old Castle (German: Altes Schloss) is a castle located on the Schillerplatz in the center of Stuttgart, Germany. Originally, a Wasserburg dating back to the 10th Century stood on the grounds. Today, the castle is serves as the main site of the Landesmuseum Württemberg, and the castle church (German: Schloßkirche) still functions as a place of worship.

In the year 950 CE, a castle was completed on the grounds of the Old Castle to protect the mare garden. In the 14th Century, it was the home of the Counts of Württemberg and their Court Chamber. From 1553-1578, Dukes Christoph and Louis III renovated the castle adding an equestrian staircase built by Blasius Berwart in 1560 and the church and conference room in 1562. In the 18th Century, the moat was filled.

In 1931, the castle's Dürnitz and two towers were destroyed by fire. The castle again saw damage, large parts of the ethnographic collection of the Landesmuseum Württemberg falling victim to fire, during World War Two before being renovated in 1971. Paul Schmitthenner renovated the castle in 1971.

The arcaded courtyard of the castle itself shows architectural motifs of early Renaissance from Italy.

King Charles I of Württemberg and his wife Olga are buried beneath the castle church. The inner courtyard houses a monument to Eberhard I. The Old Castle stands adjacent to its replacement, the New Castle, which was built in the late 18th century.

On the Karlsplatz side of the Old Castle is a museum dedicated to the memory of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg a former resident of Stuttgart who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.




Old Castle (Stuttgart)

The Old Castle (German: Altes Schloss) is a former castle located on the Schillerplatz in Stuttgart, Germany. The castle, originally a water castle dating back to the 10th century, was the residence of the Counts and later some Dukes of Württemberg and today is the home of the Landesmuseum Württemberg. The castle church (German: Schloßkirche) still functions as a place of worship.

History

In the year 950 AD, a castle was completed on the grounds of the Old Castle to protect the mare garden. In the 14th century, it was the home of the Counts of Württemberg and their Court Chamber. From 1553-1578, Dukes Christoph and Louis III renovated the castle adding an equestrian staircase built by Blasius Berwart in 1560 and the church and conference room in 1562. In the 18th century, the moat was filled.

In 1931, the castle's dirnitz and two towers were destroyed by fire. The castle again saw damage, large parts of the ethnographic collection of the Landesmuseum Württemberg falling victim to fire, during World War Two before being renovated in 1971. Paul Schmitthenner renovated the castle in 1971.

The arcaded courtyard of the castle itself shows architectural motifs of early Italian Renaissance.

King Charles I of Württemberg and his wife Olga are buried beneath the castle church. The inner courtyard houses a monument to Eberhard I. The Old Castle stands adjacent to its replacement, the New Castle, which was built in the late 18th century.

On the Karlsplatz side of the Old Castle is a museum dedicated to the memory of Claus von Stauffenberg a former resident of Stuttgart who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.



The New Palace (German: Neues Schloss) is an 18th century Baroque palace and is one of the last large city palaces built in Southern Germany. The palace is located in the center of Stuttgart on the Schlossplatz in front of the Jubiläumssäule column and Konigsbau. Public tours of the building are only permitted by special arrangement, as the building contains some government offices. Once a historic residence of the Kings of Württemberg, the New Palace derives its name from its commissioning by Duke Carl Eugen of Württemberg to replace the Old Castle in the early years of his reign. Originally, Charles commissioned Nikolaus Friedrich Thouret, but architects Leopold Retti, Philippe da la Guepière, Reinhard Heinrich Ferdinand Fischer would contribute to the design, history, and construction of the palace.

In 1737, then Duke of Württemberg Charles Alexander died leaving his nine year old Charles Eugene as Duke prematurely. He was not yet old enough to rule the Duchy, so he was sent to be educated and study in the court of then King of Prussia Frederick the Great while the court of Württemberg was run by magistrates. In 1744, Charles Eugene came of age at 16 years of age, and returned to Stuttgart to assume his throne. Upon arriving, he desired a new residence proper residence which is convenable to his royal dignity and the amplitude of his royal household" in the city of Stuttgart and even threatened to move the capital back out of Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg Palace. The Württemberg Diet, who had lost the traditional role of capital of the Duchy for decades to the smaller and unfortified Ludwigsburg, insisted that the palace and seat of the power be moved back into Stuttgart because it would mean increased pride and political and economic power coming to rest in the city once again. So it was that Charles Eugene decided to build his palace upon the Schlossplatz.

However, there was some debate over the palace as the Duchy already had the large and expensive residence at Ludwigsburg, and some, like Württemberg's Oberbaudirektor Johann Christoph David Leger, argued that expansion of a previous residence like the Old Castle would suffice. Plans nonetheless went forward, and architects across Europe jumped at the chance to design the Duke's palace and submitted drafts directly to Charles, including renowned architects Alessandro Galli da Bibiena and Maurizio Pedetti as well as Balthasar Neumann, designer of the world famous Würzburg Residence.

On 3 September 1746 the cornerstone was laid under the New Palace's first build master, Leopoldo Matteo Retti whose uncle, Donato Giuseppe Frisoni, had worked on Ludwigsburg Palace. Retti, who picked the site of an old crossbow shop for the New Palace, planned for the courtyard to face the nearby Karlsschule Stuttgart and New Lusthaus south of the palace, the Garden Wing to face the Ducal Apartments in the Corps de logis, and for the City Wing to contain the guest and state rooms. However, when construction began, it began under the direction of Johann Christoph David Leger as Retti was working on a commission in Ansbach until 1748. The following year, the facades of the Corps de logis and Garden Wing were completed, while work on the interiors would last until 1750. Unfortunately, Retti, whose work had been inspired by the Baroque architecture of France, died of an unknown illness 18 September 1751.

After Retti's death, construction of the palace fell to Parisian architect Philippe de La Guêpière, a friend of Retti. A connoisseur of then modern architectural theory, Philippe was inspired by his time in his native France and especially the magnificent Palace of Versailles, and took the palace in this direction. Under La Guêpière, the City Wing facade was finished in 1756 as well as a dome over the central structure in 1760 with decorations to the Corp de logis following in 1762. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the interior of the Garden Wing, which La Guêpière had just finished, on the night of 13–14 November of that same year. Following the fire, an annoyed Charles Eugene decreed the speedy conclusion of construction of the White Room and Mirror Gallery for the celebration of his birthday (11 February) the following year. In 1764, construction ceased because the Duke moved his residence to Ludwigsburg and remained there for a decade. In response, La Guêpière left the Duke's court in 1768 and returned to Paris.

In 1775, the Duke returned to Stuttgart and hired Reinhard Heinrich Ferdinand Fischer to repair the Palace. He would do so until his death in 1793 and his era would see the central pavilion of the Marble Hall in the Corps de Logis was decorated with a fresco by Nicolas Guibal. Czar Paul I of Russia and his wife Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, one of Charles Eugene's nieces, visited the castle in 1775.

When Charles Eugene died in 1793, New Palace was given more much needed repairs. 1789 saw the completion of the City Wing and the Garden Wing in 1791 during the rule of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (construction elsewhere could continue into the 19th Century). In 1806, as the palace was finally nearing completion, Napoleon Bonaparte visited the New Palace. Eleven years later, von Thouret redecorated some of the rooms of the Red Marble Hall during the visit of Czar Alexander I.

When Duke and then King Frederick I died, William I moved the seat of his power back to the New Palace and hired Giovanni Salucci and later his pupil Ferdinand Gabriel and charged them with renovating the palace's Grey and Yellow Marble Halls in 1836. In 1840 and 1841 and from 1852 to 1854, the court painter Josef Anton Gegenbauer painted three frescoes in the rooms created next to the staircase on the ground floor with scenes from the history of the Duchy and the Kingdom of Württemberg. Under Duke Charles I and his wife Olga only minor changes were made to the castle, mainly made in the royal living area and by Joseph von Egle were executed. William II renounced the residency of the Dukes in the New Palace, and the palace was somewhat opened to the public for the first time.

After Wilhelm II abdicated his throne on November 30, 1918, the palace passed into state ownership. In 1919, the German Foreign Institute used the ground floor and some of the garden wing to house their offices and showrooms and some of the first and second floors became the headquarters for the local police. In the early 1920s, nearly the entire first floor became a museum displaying the royal Kunstkammer, majolica collection, and former living places of the kings of Württemberg. On 15 April 1920, Richard von Weizsäcker, future President of Germany, was born in the attic of the palace. When the German Foreign Institute moved out in 1928, the remaining unused portions of the palace were converted into German military and ancient antiquity museums. When the police headquarters moved out in 1926, the second floor housed the offices of the antiquities collection and historic preservation authorities.

The World War II air raids on February 21, 1944, Neue Schloss was almost completely burned to the ground by Allied bombs, leaving only the facade standing. For many years, preservationists fought rebuild Neue Schloss (once, it was nearly demolished in favor of a hotel) until 1957 when finally it was agreed in the Baden-Württemberg Landtag that the castle would be rebuilt - by one vote. Since the reconstruction that began in 1958 under the careful direction of Horst Linde, the castle has been used by the State's government, starting with the Corps de logis (Now used for representation by the State Ministry) and the two wings of the castle. The only part of the castle that was not fully restored was an air raid shelter under the building that was demolished in 1958. Today it is used by the State Ministries of Finance and Education and is now open to the public via regular guided tours.

New Palace (Stuttgart)

The Wilhelmspalais (German: Wilhelm's Palace) is a Palace located on the Charlottenplatz in Stuttgart-Mitte. It was the living quarters of the last Württemberg King Wilhelm II. It was destroyed during World War II and between 1961 and 1965 reconstructed in modern style. The central library of the town, the Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart was situated in this building from 1965 till 2011.

The Wilhelmspalais was built from 1834 to 1840 by Giovanni Salucci, the court architect of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg in the Classical style. The king wanted to use it as a residence for his two eldest daughters, the Princesses Marie and Sophie. King Whilhelm also hired Ludwig von Zanth to design the interior of the palace.

The grandnephew of Wilhelm II, also named Wilhelm, moved into the Wilhelmpalais until Wilhelm II abdicated on 30 November 1918. On 9 November 1918, revolutionaries stormed the castle. The property passed into the ownership if the city of Stuttgart upon the abdication of Wilhelm II on 30 November 1918. It became a museum in 1929 that featured exhibitions. The building was destroyed during World War Two.

Between 1961 and 1965, Wilhelm Tiedje rebuilt Wilhelmspalais in Modernist style and then housed the Stuttgart City Library until 2011 when it moved to the new building at Milan court.

Since the library moved out, it has been decided that Wilhelmspalais will become a museum once more (Stuttgart City Museum). Stuttgart architects Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei and Jangled Nerves started work in 2014. The museum is expected to open in 2017. The addition to a café and bar have been well received by the general populace, and already Wilhelmspalais is a popular place to find local artists.

A modest statue of Wilhelm II stands outside the Palais.

Wilhelm Palais

Wilhelma (help·info) is a zoological-botanical garden in Stuttgart in the Bad Cannstatt District in the north of the city on the grounds of a historic castle. Wilhelma Zoo is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Baden-Württemberg, seeing more than 2 million visitors annually.

The Zoo and Botanical Garden have been staffed since 1846. The Moorish Revival style echoing the Alhambra have been maintained and supplemented since 1960. Today, the zoo has an area of about 30 hectares (0.30 km2), houses around 11,500 animals from around the world composed of roughly 1,200 species and roughly 6000 plants from all climates. Of Germany's zoos, Wilhelma's collection ranks second to the Berlin Zoological Garden. In addition to the public garden, Wilhelma also has a branch office located in Fellbach, where the zoo keeps its stallions.

Wilhelma receives gorilla juveniles rejected by their mother and reared by the zookeepers. At age 2-3, the gorillas are sent back to their original zoo(s).

In 1829, the property the zoo stood near the mineral springs on the Castle Rosenstein estate. Then Duke William I of Württemberg decided to build a royal bathhouse in the gardens. The Duke decided that the bathhouse should be built in the Moorish style in the same fashion as the Alhambra in the Spanish province of Granada, with an attached Orangery. Unfortunately, construction ground to a halt in 1816 due to economic woes caused by the Year Without Summer, so Wilhelma became just another summer residence of the Dukes and later Kings of Württemberg. Ludwig von Zanth was hired in 1837 to design and construct the Duke's bathhouse.

1842 saw the completion of the first few buildings of the Duke's bathhouse and the site received the name Wilhelma. The imaginative von Zanth knew how to fire up the Duke's mind and thus was able to complete the Duke's summer villa, which consisted of a residential building, a domed hall and two neighboring greenhouses, each with a corner pavilion. In 1846, the marriage between Charles I of Württemberg and Olga Nikolaevna of Russia was celebrated at Wilhelma, which by now had a banquet hall, two main building with several courtrooms, several gazebos, greenhouses and a large park. The cottage would be finished 20 years later.

The abdication of King in 1918 saw Wilhelma pass into the possession of the city of Stuttgart and state of Baden-Württemberg. To this day it has been maintained by the Ministry of Finances. Wilhelma was opened to the public in 1919 as a botanical garden. A significant part of the zoo's income was the orchid collection, which brought in money by selling offspring from the garden (a practice at that time unique in Germany). The Imperial Garden Show of 1939 took place in Stuttgart at Wilhelma.

Wilhelma was badly damaged during World War Two Allied bombing raids during the night of October 19 and 20, 1944. The Garden and Orangery suffered extensive damage; the plants that had not been moved prior to prevent their destruction were either destroyed are heavily damaged. The then director of the gardens, Albert Schöchle wanted to restore the gardens but also had an idea to once again incorporate animals on the property.

1949 saw the reopening ceremony that featured an aquarium. In 1950 a bird exhibit featuring cassowaries, a pheasant, rheas, ostriches, and birds of paradise was unveiled at Wilhelma. This exhibition was followed by the "Animals of the German Fairy Tale" in the same year. It featured such animals as brown bears, lions, various snakes including anacondas and pythons, and dinosaurs, giant turtles, and crocodiles. Another exhibit, "Animals of the Plains of Africa," once again featured lions, crocodiles, antelopes, waterbucks, zebras, wildebeests, and giraffes. The "Indian Jungle Exhibit" was the most successful exhibit in the entire history of Wilhelma. The display included elephants, tigers, leopards, Asiatic black bears, and Macaques. Even though the state of Baden-Württemberg's Ministry of Finances ordered the animals from those exhibits removed, the order was never carried out. 1965 saw the founding of the Association of Friends and Supporters of Wilhelma.

1960 was a good year for Wilhelma; the Stuttgart Council of Ministers approved expansions of the zoo, and this was approved by the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg 1961. New additions to the zoo included the renovation of King Wilhelm's Moorish villa into the exhibit for nocturnal animals in 1962, the construction of a new modern building and an aquarium in 1967, and buildings and exhibits for big cats, rhinos, and hippos in 1968. Then director Albert Schöchle retired in 1970 and was replaced by Wilbert Neugebauer. Under Neugebauer, a building for the zoo's monkeys completed in 1973, South American plants in 1977, hoofed African animals in 1982, Sub Tropics exhibit in 1981, and Youngstock House in 1982. Biologist Dieter Jauch became the third director in 1989, previously working as the curator of the aquarium. In Jauch's tenure, the previous system for bears and climbing animals was revised in 1991, the zoo's demonstration farm was completed in 1993, and a new aviary for the zoo's penguins and kangaroo enclosure were completed in the same year. Wilhelma's Amazon House was finished in 2000, the inesectarium in 2001, the Bongo exhibit was expanded in 2003, Crocodile Hall was renovated in 2006, the Elephant enclosure was renovated in 2012, the meerkat hall was finished in 2013, and the African Apes Hall was opened that same year. Further work by Jauch included a new outdoor terrarium and the expansion of the bison enclosure in 2013. Thomas Kölpin became director in 2014. His tenure saw the conclusion of the renovation of the old palace into the nocturnal animals hall (1962–2014) with the aim to build an entirely new building for the zoo's nocturnal animals in Elephant Park, and the finishing of the small animals house (1968–2014).

By 1993, Wilhelma reached its current size. A new ape house was opened in May 2013 (construction cost 22 million euros). The redesigned exterior of the elephant enclosure was completed in April 2012. To make room for even more elephants, the rhinos will be moving to their previous enclosure. A new hippo plant on the Neckar with a new pedestrian crossing is in development. A collaboration with the Neckar-Käpt'n and the National Museum of Natural History on this topic is being discussed. Construction will connect Wilhelma to Stuttgart 21 and B10 tunnel; Wilhelma will serve as a railroad stop on the B10 route. Construction is to begin in September 2015. Another 20 year bill granting funds for further expansion to Wilhelma was put up for consideration by the Ministry of Finances was approved July 2015.

The Elephant and Rhino houses were completed in 1968, and ropes were later installed in 1990 to replace the chains. The grounds of both buildings were redesigned in 2012 to include trees and an animal friendly scrub basin, increasing its total size to 830 square metres (8,900 sq ft). In addition, a clay wallows and two basins with interchangeable substrates (e.g. bark mulch, gravel.) were added. Currently, there are two living elephants at Wilhelma: Pama (1966) and Vella (1967). Previous elephants include Vilja, the oldest living elephant in Europe, died July 10, 2010 (cause of death is thought to be circulatory collapse), and Molly, whom was euthanized in July 2011 at the age of about 45 years. Other elephants at the zoo include the African elephant Jumbo and, briefly, an Asian bull elephant sent by the Indian state as a gift to Stuttgart. Another construction project, announced in a speech that will begin in 2020, is in the planning stages.

Wilhelma's rhinos, housed in the same building as the elephants, include:Sani who was given to Stuttgart by the Nepalese state as a gift in 1993, and Bruno, the bull, who was raised in Cologne. Together, they make up the current breeding pair. Before them, Wilhelma's Rhino breeding pair were Nanda and Puri.

The Tapir House, built in the Expansion era in 1968, houses the pygmy hippo bull, Hannibal, and hippos Rosi and Maik. The building also houses a few species of its namesake, the tapir: the malayan tapir, Mountain tapir, three babirusas, and some warthogs.

The plant complex for African ungulates which includes the giraffe house, was opened 1980th Today there live zebras, giraffes, kudus, okapi, Dorcas gazelle, Marabou stork and Somali wild ass. Wilhelma has been very successful in the breeding of giraffes, Somali wild asses, bongos, okapi, bontebok and zebras. Since 1989, a total of 12 okapi have arrived at Wilhelma. In the giraffe house there are not only the indoor enclosure of giraffe and okapi, but also the home of Congo peacocks, Fennec foxes, short-eared elephant shrews and weaver birds. Former residents include Grant's zebras, shoebills, porcupines, klipspringers, waterbucks, warthogs and numerous antelopes.

The "Ranch" that borders the Tapir House, new Ape House, and excavation site of the tunnel to Castle Rosenstein, was built as a temporary holding area in the 1980s. It houses takins and the zoo's bison, and an onager.

The old Ape House, opened in 1973, was one of the most modern of its kind at the time. The building's design, since copied by numerous other zoos and again mimicked in the new ape house, was characterized by features like the carousel-style design of the enclosure and the tiles that line them and the specialized support disks that allowed increased force distribution. The last two chimpanzees at Wilhelma were acquired in the summer of 2010 due to European Endangered Species Programme drive begun at Veszprém. Since the opening of the new ape house, the old house has been used exclusively for the zoo's orangutans. In 2011, it was announced that the zoo wished to remodel the enclosures of the orangutans, lutungs and gibbons.

When the old ape house (built in 1973) no longer met international standards, Wilhelma had to build a new ape house. In Spring of 2010, the project began to not only meet international standards, but to also include housing for gorillas and bonobos in an outdoor area. The new building, 13 times the size of the original structure at 4,500 square metres (48,000 sq ft), was opened to the public on May 14, 2013. Construction of the New Ape House wound up costing the zoo about 22 million euros, 70% more than the original 9.5 million euros financed towards the project. The unfortunate deaths of two bonobos thanks to malfunctioning components inaqu the ventilation have called the construction quality of the building into questioning.

The Monkey facility, opened in 1973, now houses both gibbons and lutungs. Here, Wilhelma's breeding program for the Slim monkey is remarkable among other zoos in the world at 37 new pups. 2015 saw some remodeling done to the gibbons enclosure for visitor convenience. The building has housed Proboscis monkeys, Lion-tailed macaques, Drills, Doucs, and Spider and Capuchin monkeys.

Since 1975, two other structures for (originally) housing primates were reconstructed. The larger of the two now houses Geladas, hyraxes, and Barbary sheep. The other still houses Japanese macaques.

The first major expansion to Wilhelma's collection of birds began with the Sub Tropics Aviary in 1981 that houses kookaburras, Marbled ducks, Northern bald ibises, numerous species of parrot. A special feature of the aviaries is the only New Zealand kaka outside of New Zealand and the first successful breeding of a Kea in Germany. Due to the strain put on the historic wall of the Sub Tropic Aviary by the New Ape House, a new project for a larger aviary is pending.

There are several aviaries behind Damascene Hall that were once used for Pheasantry when Wilhelma was still a palace for the King of Württemberg. In the post war period, these were used for housing small predatory animals including Canines, small cats, and civets. Since the restoration of the aviaries in the 1990s, they now hold native birds such as partridges, Eurasian bullfinchs, sparrows, and various pigeon species. In 2015, a modification was made to these aviaries to house capercaillies for Wilhelma's in situ participation of Species protection in the Black Forest region.

For the 1993 World Horticultural Exposition, a new enclosure for African penguins (who had been at Wilhelma since 1953) to replace their old habitat in the Garden's ponds near the Moorish villa adjacent to the bird aviary. There also were located Humboldt, Rockhopper, Gentoo, and King penguins. Public feedings occur daily.

In 1993, an aviary for birds from all over the world was constructed. Included are Black storks, ibises, Great hornbills, and an Asian and Australian community aviary that contains a Microbat exhibit and feeding kitchen.

Wilhelma's collection of cranes began with a bird exhibition in 1950: Redcrowned, Blue, and White-naped cranes and also a Hawaiian goose joined Wilhelma. Birds that used to have a presence at the zoo include other types of cranes, shoebills, geese, and curiously a Brush kangaroo.

The aquarium staff was responsible for inadvertently breeding a strain of Caulerpa taxifolia or "Killer Algae," a highly invasive species of algae which has had "severe negative consequences for biodiversity".
Wilhelma Zoo is Europe's only large combined zoological and botanical garden.
The upper section of the zoo includes an impressive stand of sequoia trees.
The botanical gardens contain Europe's biggest magnolia grove.
Wilhelma adjoins a public park to its west laid out in the 'English landscape style' of rolling grass and informal groups of trees; this perfectly complements the landscape of the zoo.
Wilhelma has a branch department in Fellbach where it keeps Stallions.
Wilhelma is the only state owned zoo in Germany.

Wilhelma

Rosenstein Castle (German: Schloss Rosenstein) is a palace in Stuttgart, Germany. It was designed in the classical style by the architect and court builder Giovanni Salucci (1769–1845) as the summer palace for King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and was built between 1822 and 1830.

Today, the building houses that part of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart dealing with extant lifeforms.

Before the construction of the palace, the hill Rosenstein Castle stands on was called Kahlenstein (German: Bald Rock) as it was bare of trees. Afterwards, it became known as Rosenstein (German: Rose Rock) because of the rose garden southeast of the palace.
Directly under Rosenstein Castle is Württemberg's first railroad tunnel. Constructed between July 1844 and July 1846, the tunnel is 326 metres (1,070 ft) long and was used until a new tunnel, located further east and not passing under the castle, was completed in 1915.

Rosenstein Palace

Hohenasperg, located in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart, Germany, of which it is administratively part, is an ancient fortress and prison overlooking the town of Asperg. It was an active fortification between 1535 and 1593.

Hohenasperg is located on a 90-metre-high Late Triassic hill. The hill is located in an upland area, but because of its steep overhangs and wide plateau, it is visible from a long distance and offers an ideal location for a fortification.

Around 500 BC, the Hohenasperg was a Celtic principality with a refuge. Numerous Celtic burial sites in the surrounding area are aligned so as to offer a line of sight to the Hohenasperg, e.g. the large Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave or the gravesite on the Katharinenlinde by Schwieberdingen. The Kleinaspergle, which has been well-known since an excavation in 1839, is a burial mound lying 1,000 metres south of Hohenasperg, which offers an exceptionally good view of the Hohenasperg.

Around 500 AD, after the victory of the Franks over the Alamanni, Hohenasperg became the seat of the Frankish Lord and Frankish Thing, the legislative assembly. At this time Hohenasperg was called "Ascicberg."

The first time Asperg was referred to was in the year 819, as the Shire Gozberg granted local suzerainty to Weissenburg Abbey in the Alsace. The location however achieved more importance in the 13th century with the founding of the independent town of Hohenasperg, which lasted until 1909. Hohenasperg was officially chartered in 1510. In 1519, forces of the Swabian League under George von Frundsberg laid siege to Hohenasperg where Duke Ulrich of Württemberg was holding out.

On 12 May 1525, the peasant leader, Jäcklein Rohrbach, was taken prisoner by the governor of Asperg. He was held there until the surrender of the Steward of Waldburg-Zeil. After 1535, the castle was expanded and turned into a fortress. The residents were resettled at the foot of the hill.

Between 1634 and 1635, during the Thirty Years War, the castle was defended against imperial troops by a garrison of Protestants from Württemberg, reinforced by Swedish forces. The siege ended finally with the surrender to the imperial troops, who occupied the fortress until 1649.

After the Thirty Years War, the fortress was returned to the rule of Württemberg. In 1688 and 1693, it was occupied by French troops; afterwards it lost its importance as a defensive fortress and became a garrison and a state prison. In 1718, Asperg was integrated into the district Ludwigsburg, but 17 years later became its own district. In 1781, Asperg was permanently incorporated into the district of Ludwigsburg.

The use of the fortress as a prison is responsible for the fact that Hohenasperg is jokingly referred to as "Württemberg's highest mountain" as they say "it takes only five minutes to come to the top, but years to come back down again."

In 1737, Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, a Jew and the financial adviser to the Duke of Württemberg, was arrested and, in a dubious political trial, was sentenced to death. The poet C. F. D. Schubart was held prisoner there between 1777 and 1787. Schubart's fate became the subject of Friedrich Schiller's Drama "The Robber." Schiller himself had escaped the confinement of the Hohenasperg by fleeing to Mannheim in the neighboring Electorate of the Palatinate.

During the rule of King Frederick of Württemberg, deserters, military prisoners, and separatists from the Radical Pietist group from the circle of Rottenacker were kept at Fort Hohenasperg. By 1813, about 400 prisoners were arrested on the fortress. When his son King Wilhelm I became ruler in 1817, corporal punishment, such as running the gauntlet, was abolished.

Further inmates in Fort Hohenasperg included the writer Berthold Auerbach, who was kept here between 1837 and 1838; Friedrich Kammerer (1833); the doctor and poet Theobald Kerner (1850–1851); the theologian Karl Hase; the satirist Johannes Nefflen; the poet Leo von Seckendorff, the writer Theodor Griesinger; and many more, mostly political dissidents, who in general were held prisoner because of their anti-monarchistic views.

In 1887 and 1888 a water tower, was constructed, which also supports police radio antennas.

Since 1894, a prison for the civil penal system has been located on Hohenasperg hill. In the meantime the central hospital for the Baden-Württemberg penal system was placed on the Hohenasperg.

During spring and summer 1933, numerous members of Hitler's opposition, the Social Democrats and Communists, were imprisoned at Hohenasperg. Amongst these prisoners was the Governor of Württemberg, Eugen Bolz, who was murdered during Aktion Gitter in Berlin in 1945. At least 101 prisoners died in Hohenasperg under its hard penal system, and 20 of their names have been identified by the Ludwigsburg VVN, an antifascist organization. These names are remembered on a plaque in the Prisoner's Cemetery.

In May 1940, the prison was used as a way station during the first centrally planned deportation of Sinti out of southwest Germany, west of the Rhine River (Mainz, Ingelheim, Worms). The deportation was carried using a special train, families were escorted through the village by foot, with police surveillance. In the prison, examinations were conducted by the Ritter Research Institute, which decided the fate of the inmates. The institute was named for the "scientific racist" Robert Ritter. Further deportations were sent to the General Government, the area of Germany-occupied Poland. Non-gypsies were sent back.

At least until the beginning of 1943, the prison was used as a way station for Sinti who were being sent to concentration camps. Later deportations led to the Gypsy Family Camp, the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where prisoners were murdered.

1946-1947 The U.S. Seventh Army used Hohenasperg as an Internment camp. In the book, "The Prison Called Hohenasperg" author Arthur D. Jacobs provides his experience as a prisoner in Hohenasperg.

The prison later became a civil prison for the detention of non-political prisoners and now also houses the central hospital of the prison service in Baden-Württemberg. In this capacity, it held Peter Graf, father of the tennis-player Steffi Graf, in 1995. The serial killer Heinrich Pommerenke died in Hohenasperg in the central hospital on 27 December 2008.

There is a small museum detailing the lives of some of the prison's notable inmates ("Hohenasperg. Ein deutsches Gefängnis").

