2021.06.19 - Visiting the Birkenkopf in Stuttgart

Now its really summer 🥵. I went to the memorial site “Birkenkopf”, a small hill on the west side of Stuttgart. Its a nice place from where you can see big parts of the city and sou rounding areas - the view is great. Not sure how many people are there during normal times, right now its less than a handful.

For the way there, I mostly walked the hiking trails Rotes Kreuz, Solitude - Leinfelden, and Martinusweg Mittelroute (although just a very small part of that).

The way mostly leads through forest, but also past a few smaller memorial stones and plates, and past a few small lakes - the “Katzenbachsee”, “Bärensee”, “Neuer See”, and the “Pfaffensee”.

Oh yeah, if you don’t want to walk there all the way, there is also a bus stop just a few minutes away. You still have to “climb” up the hill, but there is a road 😉 (only for pedestrians).

Hutteneiche: Hans von Hutten was murdered here on the 8th of May 1515 by duke Ulrich.

Memorial: Gottlieb Friedr. Erhardt, waggoner of Böblingen, had to lose his life here under the wheels of his cart.

“O Fuhrleut denkat an diesen Stein, wie schnell ihr könnt des Todes sein.”

Died 15th of August, 1868.

Birkenkopf: originally 471.00m above sea level, today it is 511.20m above. It was raised by 40.20m between 1953 - 1957, by amassing 1.5 million cubic meters of rubble that was left after 53 airstrikes in the 2. world war destroyed 45% of the city Stuttgart.

This hill, amassed after the second world war from the rubble of the city, is to remind of the victims and as warning to the living.