Welcome to the birthplace of the automobile! In Stuttgart you can take a journey through more than 125 years of fascinating automotive history – and on into the future.
In 1886, at around the same time, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were working on a new invention – the motor-car – and today, thanks to its Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museums, Stuttgart, the capital city of Baden-Württemberg, has become a magnet for motoring fans from all over the world.
With the Porsche Museum (2009) and the Mercedes-Benz Museum (2006), Stuttgart has not got one, but two exhibitions centering on the automobile. The Mercedes-Benz Museum is the only one of its kind in the world to document the full history of the development of the automobile. And Gottlieb Daimler's birthplace in Schorndorf commemorates the town's most famous son. The little town with its timbered houses and historically protected old town centre is well worth a visit in its own right, too.
Porsche Museum
Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen serves to present the fascinating thrill and diversity of the Porsche brand to visitors from all over the world. More than 80 cars are on display in the 5,600 square metre (60,250 square feet) Exhibition Area styled and designed futuristically, ranging from the legendary wheel hub motor of the Lohner-Porsche, the world's first hybrid automobile built as far back as in 1900, all the way to the latest generation of the Porsche 911.
The building at Porscheplatz is located at a very important place in the history of German automobile production, since this is where the Porsche Design Office moved to from downtown Stuttgart to Plant 1 in Zuffenhausen back in 1938. In the same year the forerunners of the VW Beetle saw the light of day precisely here at this location, followed by the Type 64 Porsche as the ancestor of all Porsche sports cars, the legendary Berlin-Rome car, in 1939. Sports cars proudly bearing the now world-famous Porsche logo have been built here in Zuffenhausen ever since 1950.
The actual Exhibition Area is made up of a daring steel structure resting on just three concrete cores and appearing to hover in space, covering a span of up to 60 metres or almost 200 feet. Inside the Museum Porsche's historical cars and some 200 additional exhibits are grouped together in a carefully planned and highly attractive arrangement.
Mercedes-Benz Museum
The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart is the only place in the world capable of documenting the unbroken history of the automobile from its very beginning. Transporting you to a height of 34 metres, the museum lift will take you on a journey back in time – to the year 1886. For this is where the legend begins, with the pioneering invention of Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz – the automobile. Few inventions have made such an impact on the human world.
Two interlinked museum tours guide the visitor through the spectacular architecture of the building and the eventful history of the Mercedes-Benz brand – combining the key moments in contemporary world history with super sports cars, Silver Arrows and Gullwings. The two tours lead to the same end point: the innovations of the present. Here in the Fascination of Technology exhibition you will gain an insight into the latest topics from the worlds of research, design, development and production.
Over an area covering 16,500 square metres on nine levels, the exhibition presents 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits, divided into Legend rooms and Collection rooms. The Legend rooms document the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and are subdivided into themes and epochs. The Collection rooms offer a thematic presentation of the wealth and diversity of vehicles made by the brand.
Youth Hostel Stuttgart International
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Youth Hostel is located downtown in Stuttgart, just a 10-minute walk from Stuttgart Main Station and the Königsstraße shopping mall. Thanks to its position on a hillside, you have a beautiful view all over the city. The simply furnished rooms and dormitories at Youth Hostel Stuttgart International all include a seating area and a private bathroom with shower. Wi-Fi is available in public areas. Buffets are served for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room. Laundry facilities are available, and free lockers and a storage room for luggage are provided. The 24-hour reception includes a tour desk and ticket service, and on-site parking is free.
There is a special offer for automobile fans: two overnights (in a multi-bedded bed-room with shower and WC) including rich breakfast buffet, towels and bed linen, welcome drink in the bistro and a three days ticket for public transport, entrance fee for one museum for only 79,90 Euros.
