Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1918 — CAPITAL of WURTEMBURG [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CAPITAL of WURTEMBURG

WHEN the German airmen a little while ago bombarded the beautiful and ancient city of Bar-le-Duc in France, the French promptly retaliated by an air raid on the model city of Stuttgart. No two cities could be more unlike or more characteristic of their respective countries than Bar-le-Duc and Stuttgart. As Bar-le-Duc Is the symbol of poetry, romance and antiquity, Stuttgart is the personification of all that is ihodern, scientific and military. Stuttgart is the capital of Wurtemberg and before the war had a population of 280,000, which Included some of its suburbs and a garrison of 32,000 men - which was stationed there. It Is delightfully' situated, surrounded by atractive suburbs and amid vine-clad heights. It is two and a half miles from the Neckar river, In the valley of the Nesenbach. ‘All around It are vineyards which cover the nearby hills, while the distant mountains are in sight. It la a thoroughly modern town, although Its charter does date back to 1229. There are few buildings of an earlier date than the nineteenth century and many of them are of architectural importance. The stately appearance of the city is owing to the pronounced adherence of its architects to the Renaissance type of building, instead of the varieties of styles most cities permit. Nowhere else in the world is the revival of the Renaissance style as well illustrated as in Stuttgart. Some of Its Great Building*. " A spacious street, the Konigstrasse, extends diagonally from southwest to northeast through the city and borders the beautiful park, the Schlossplatz, which Is adorned with statues, flower beds and pleasure grounds. In the center is a jubilee column in memory of William I. The most prominent buildings are clustered around the Schlossplatz. Among these are the old palace, from the sixteenth century; the new palace, from the eighteenth century and containing 276 apartments; the splendid Konigsbau, a huge modern building with a fine collon&de containing ball and concert rooms; the Akademie, formerly the seat of the Karlschule where Schiller received part of his education; the Royal library, the Court theater, the palace of the Dnchess Vera of Wurtemburg and the palace of the crown prince. Besides these there are numerous fine churches, museums and other institutions. Not far from the Schlossplatz are the court of justice, stables, the new post office, the Central railroad station, the finest in Germany, and many fine statues. Besides the jubilee column there is another to the memory of Emperor William 1; one to Duke Eberhard the Bearded; a really splendid one to Schiller by Thorwaldsen and one to Christopher, duke of Wurtemberg. galleries and museums of Stuttgart are numerous and .valuable. The Museum of Art has a fine collection of pictures, casts and engravings. The Royal library contains about 603,000 printed volumes; 5,550 manuscripts, many of them of great value, and the largest collection of in the world, there being 7,300 volumes in more than a hundred different languages. There are 2,400 specimens of early printing. It is perhaps the finest library In Germany and Is considerably larger than our own Carnegie library of Pittsburgh. V- Fine industrial Museum. The Industrial museum contains samples and specimens of the textile fabrics, machines, tools, patterns, models, etc., of nearly every country In the world, all labeled withe specifications of patents, trade marks and

price lists. The importance of this collection to the German Industries cannot be overestimated. Of French and English fabrics alone there are 280,000 samples, while of French and German carpets there are 70,000 specimens. There is a museum of natural history that is wonderful and valuable. In one of the palaces Is a collection of Majolica vases that was purchased in Venice in the eighteenth century. The Wurtemburg Museum of Antiquities contains every sort of relic imaginable from royal cabinets and armor to a pack of cards painted In the fifteenth century. To see all the objects in these museums arid galleries would take a lifetime and then one would not have seen half. Stuttgart is the center of a network of railroads. It Is also the center of the bookmaking and publishing Industry of south Germany. It is noted for its excellent educational institutions, and especially Its Conservatory of Music, where many Americans have received their musical education. It has a technical high school that confers the degree of doctor of engineering, also a veterinary high school, and a school of art. Home of Famous Men. There are a number of great men who have lived in Stuttgart. Among them are Hegel, the philosopher, who was born in 1770; Dannecker, the sculptor, also claimed It as his birthplace ; the poet Schiller was educated there, Jils father being the inspector of the. gardens of the Karlschule; Gustav Schwab, the poet, lived there and is buried in the Hoppenlau cemetery ; and the tomb of Johann Reuchlin, the humanist, is In one of the churches. We can Imagine the pride the Germans have in this beautiful city, which is a model for all municipalities, and the consternation there must have been when it was attacked by airplanes. It seems an outrage to destroy .what Is beautiful and valuable, and when the Germans realize the danger and perhaps loss of some of their own art treasures it is to be hoped they will recognize the perfidy of their own act in destroying the cathedrals of Louvain and Reims.

Street Scene in Stuttgart