In the year 950 AD, a castle was completed on the grounds of the Old Castle to protect the mare garden. In the 14th century, it was the home of the
Counts of Württemberg and their Court Chamber. From 1553-1578, Dukes
Christoph and
Louis III renovated the castle adding an equestrian staircase built by
Blasius Berwart in 1560 and the church and conference room in 1562. In the 18th century, the moat was filled. In 1931, the castle's
dirnitz and two towers were destroyed by fire. The castle again saw damage, and large parts of the ethnographic collection of the Landesmuseum Württemberg fell victim to fire, during
World War II before being renovated in 1971.
Paul Schmitthenner renovated the castle in 1971. The arcaded courtyard of the castle itself shows architectural motifs of the early
Italian Renaissance. King
Charles I of Württemberg and his wife
Olga are buried beneath the castle church. The inner courtyard houses a monument to
Eberhard I. The Old Castle stands adjacent to its replacement, the
New Castle, which was built in the late 18th century. On the
Karlsplatz side of the Old Castle is a museum dedicated to the memory of
Claus von Stauffenberg a former resident of Stuttgart who attempted to assassinate
Adolf Hitler on
20 July 1944. ==Landesmuseum Württemberg==