The immediate area surrounding the two Stuttgart palaces is characterized by the claim to representation and the requirements of a residential palace administration, i.e. courts of honor, gardens and parade grounds, have been important elements of city planning since the Renaissance.
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Many buildings and gardens have disappeared again over the centuries, however Stuttgart's residents and their visitors still stroll through the main complexes today.
Schillerplatz, the former castle forecourt built under Duke Friedrich I von Württemberg between 1594 and 1599, extends in front of the Altes Schloss. For this purpose eleven middle-class houses located directly in front of the palace were torn down. With it the architect Heinrich Schickhardt succeeded in creating a Court of Honor (Ehrenhof) of the palace which was characterized by an ensemble of buildings still preserved today.
The effective urbanistic appearance is framed by the Cathedral (Stiftskirche), the highest-ranking Protestant church in Württemberg, which goes back to a previous Romanesque building from 1175, the "Fruchtkasten" (the annual grain tribute was paid here), which contains the winepress built in 1578 at its center. It was given a new facade in the style of the Renaissance in 1596. Today it houses the collection of musical instruments of the Württemberg State Museum (Württembergisches Landesmuseums);
the Prince's Building (Prinzenbau), which was begun in 1604 - 1608 according to plans of Schickhardt and was not finished until 1685. The building was given its name in 1805, when it became the residence of the second-born prince. After being destroyed in World War II, it has been used since Germany's recovery by the Ministry of Justice of Baden-Württemberg;
the Old Chancellery (Alte Kanzlei), the eastern part of which was built in 1542 - 1544 as the seat of the ducal chancellery under Duke Ulrich. In 1566 - 1567 a story was added and the building lengthened. Today it contains the Court Pharmacy (Hofapotheke), a restaurant and part of the Ministry of Justice.
The Schiller Monument stands in the middle of Schillerplatz. It was erected in 1839 in place of the large and small draw wells. The former Palace Square (Schlossplatz) is named after this monument.
The symmetrical "Schlossplatz", originally part of the pleasure garden and decorated with many small buildings and garden areas, lies before the New Palace (Neues Schloss). To lay out the Palace Square as it is today, a two-story birdhouse and the Old Pleasure House (Altes Lusthaus) built in 1553 were torn down in 1782. The area in front of the New Palace was at first designed as a parade ground, which was planted with chestnut avenues running at right angles in 1823 and then also served as a drill ground. Since the 25-year anniversary of the reign of King Wilhelm I, a 30 m high anniversary column has stood in the center of the Palace Square and was adorned with a bronze statue of the Concordia (an allegorical figure for harmony or peace) in 1863.
The Palace Square is surrounded by the
Art Gallery (Kunstgebäude), which replaced the Court Theater in 1902 after it burned down. Its core was built on the New Pleasure House (Neues Lusthaus), which was built in 1598,
Queen Olga Building (Königin-Olga-Bau), which was rebuilt in place of the destroyed original in the historicizing style in 1949 as the banking house of Paul Schmitthenner, and which serves as an example of the architecture of the so-called First Stuttgart School,
King's Building (Königsbau), which housed Stuttgart's first shopping arcade and had halls for court balls and concerts on the upper floor. Since 1861 the securities exchange has been at home here with an interruption of seventy years.
The "Schlossgarten" (Palace Garden) at the location of what is today the Palace Square and the Upper Gardens (Obere Anlagen) was originally part of the ducal pleasure garden, which collected various buildings and garden sections according to the ideas of the Renaissance. In the center stood the Neues Lusthaus, a magnificent orangery and the much-admired artificial grottos. This garden existed up until about the middle of the 17th century.
When the Neues Schloss was built, various plans for laying out a new palace garden were worked out, including those of Balthasar Neumann, Nicolas de Pigage and R.F.H. Fischer, however which were not realized, partially for financial reasons.
Under Duke Friedrich II von Württemberg, who became the first Württemberg King in 1806, The royal palace garden was created beginning in 1807 according to the plans of Nikolaus Friedrich Thouret. The garden, which was completed and opened to the public in 1808, is oriented toward the garden wing of the Neues Schloss and extends over today's Upper and Middle Gardens Obere und Mittlere Anlagen).
Its design is based, on the one hand, on the concepts of the French
baroque garden with symmetrical paths, parterres, terraces and lakes,
and, on the other hand, also the ideas of an English landscape garden,
with winding paths between large grass areas, and groups of trees
and bushes. Numerous sculptures, small buildings and huts, benches
and boats for pleasure trips also made the park a place for recreation
for the city population.
As part of the National Garden Exhibition (Bundesgartenschau) in
1951 the Upper and Middle Palace Garden experienced a modern redesign
and the baroque axial form was broken up.
"Karlsplatz", located on the eastern side of the Altes Schloss, was originally planted as the oldest garden in the 14th century and was surrounded by a wall. It was called the Duchess' Garden (Herzogingarten) after the wife of Duke Eberhard im Bart, Barabara von Gonzaga from Mantua. Here stood the Small Pleasure House (Kleines Lusthaus) from 1556, fig houses and a flower and vegetable garden. In 1775 this garden was leveled and the square was laid out with symmetrical paths and chestnut trees planted in honor of Duke Carl Eugen. An equestrian memorial to Emperor Wilhelm I, who was proclaimed German Emperor in Versailles in 1871, has stood in the middle since 1897.