It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the Stuttgarter Kessel [5] Stuttgart Cauldron and lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Stuttgart has a population of , as of , making it the sixth largest city in Germany , [6] while over 2. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 4 European metropolitan areas by GDP ; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its list of cities by quality of living ; [a] innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of cities in its Innovation Cities Index; [b] and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta -status global city in their survey.
Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. The city is known as the " cradle of the automobile ".
In July , the city unveiled a new logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area. Since the seventh millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in AD 83 and built a massive castrum near Bad Cannstatt , making it the most important regional centre for several centuries.
Stuttgart's roots were truly laid in the tenth century with its founding by Liudolf , Duke of Swabia , as a stud farm for his warhorses. Initially overshadowed by nearby Bad Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the Thirty Years' War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city and its automobile production during World War II.
However, by , the city had bounced back and became the major cultural, economic, industrial, financial, tourism and publishing centre it is today. Stuttgart is known for its strong high-tech industry, especially in the automotive sector. It has the highest general standard of prosperity of any German city. In addition to many medium-sized companies , several major corporations are headquartered in Stuttgart, including Porsche , Bosch , and Mercedes-Benz Group. Stuttgart is also a major transport junction; it is among the most congested conurbations of Europe, and its airport is the sixth-busiest in Germany Stuttgart is a city with a high number of immigrants; according to Dorling Kindersley 's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany , "In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner.
