Groundbreaking DevelopmentThe Avant-Garde in Stuttgart

The Roaring Twenties were not confined to Berlin. Stuttgart was just as progressive, embracing greater freedom as well as edgier art and entertainment. The city reflected all facets of the modernist movement.

The 1920s were an exciting time in Stuttgart. The world premiere of Oskar Schlemmer's Triadic Ballet in 1922 broke barriers in the world of dance. At the same time, the city was rapidly becoming the automobile capital of the world. By 1924, Stuttgart citizens owned more cars per capita than Berlin citizens. Mercedes-Benz advertised cars for the so-called "new woman," who was independent and spirited, with bobbed hair and dramatic eye makeup. In 1927, journalists came from as far away as New York and Moscow to report on the daring architecture of the new Weissenhof Estate. And in 1929, Josephine Baker, the legendary scantily-clad entertainer, performed at Stuttgart's Friedrichsbau cabaret club, a venue that remains popular today. Movie theaters, dance halls and swimming pools flourished. Working hours were reduced, giving employees more free time to enjoy themselves. Better public transportation gave them more mobility. Stuttgart buzzed with modernity, art and freedom.

Of course, many of Europe's great cities enjoyed this exciting era. What was called the Roaring Twenties in Britain and Les Années Folles in France was far more than just a post-war phenomenon in Berlin. "At the time, Stuttgart had a very modern image," says Anja Krämer, who runs the Weissenhof Museum. And Stefan Egle of the Staatsgalerie art museum agrees: "Stuttgart was a hotspot for museums and art galleries. People flocked to the Staatsgalerie to see Expressionist paintings."

As early as 1905, an impressive number of young artists were studying under Adolf Hölzel at the Stuttgart State Academy of Fine Arts. The so-called "Hölzel Circle" included artists such as Oskar Schlemmer, Johannes Itten, Willi Baumeister, and Ida Kerkovius. "You could say that we invented the Bauhaus," says Nils Büttner, professor of early modern and modern art history at the State Academy of Fine Arts. Students who studied with Hölzel attended workshops where they developed ideas that Schlemmer and Itten took with them to the Bauhaus in Weimar.

So where in Stuttgart can you see the legacy of that era today? Start with the Staatsgalerie Art Museum, where you can see Schlemmer's Triadic Ballet figures and other important works by the artist. There are also paintings by Willi Baumeister and Ida Kerkovius, along with other important international works from the modernist era. Stuttgart's Art Museum on the Schlossplatz Square also helped to establish the city's reputation for exciting art in the 1920s. Among the many paintings by Otto Dix is "Metropolis," a triptych of three harrowing nocturnal city scenes.