Stuttgart  is the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg with its population of more than 620,000 inhabitants. Stuttgart is the political center of the state, the seat of the state government of Baden-Württemberg and the state parliament, as well as the seat of numerous state authorities.

Art, culture, sport or architecture - the state capital of Baden-Württemberg offers something for everyone. The range of events and attractions is vastand includes the following:

Mercedes-Benz Museum Stuttgart: Visit the only place in the world that can present the history of automobile history from day one: the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Go on a time travel and head to the elevator at 34 meters high - back to the year 1886. Here starts the myth with the groundbreaking invention of Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz - the automobile. Hardly any other invention has shaped mankind to this day to this extent. Two interconnected tours lead you through the eventful history of the Mercedes-Benz brand in the architecturally spectacular building - combined with exciting themes of the times, past supersports cars, silver pillars and wing-doors. Both routes lead to one goal: the innovations of the present. Here, in the field of fascination technology, there are insights into current topics from research, design, development and production. Nine levels present 16,500 square feet of 160 stunning vehicles and more than 1,500 exhibitions. The exhibition is divided into myth and collection rooms. The myth rooms tell the story of the Mercedes-Benz brand and divide them into themes and epochs. The collection rooms show thematically arranged abundance and variety of the vehicles of the brand.

Großcomburg Swabian Hall - former monastery of the Benedictine monks: Großcomburg in Swabian Hall, a former Benedictine monastery, was founded in 1078. The castle-like structure with its walls, towers, chapels and buildings experienced its first flowering during the Staufer period. At the end of the 15th century, it was transformed into a choir house. The outdoor complex of Großcomburg is freely accessible and the 420 m long walkway offers wonderful views of the town of Swabian Hall and the Blickberg Einhorn (510 m high).

Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg: The Ludwigsburg Palace is one of the largest remaining baroque castles in Europe, and it is also one of the largest cultural centers with three new museum pieces - the Baroque Gallery, the Fashion and the Ceramics Museum. But it is not just the size and the new brilliance that justify the international popularity of this building. It is also unique for its princely apartments from the times of the Baroque, Rococo and the Empire that are preserved as a unity of space, together with wall decoration and rich furniture. Three generations of rulers, builders, artists and craftsmen have designed the rooms. The richness of creative ideas, which were realized in the style of that time, will make your visit to the castle an unforgettable journey.

The Tomb Chapel on the Wirttemberg (die Grabkapelle auf dem Württemberg) in Stuttgart was built by King William I as an eternal proof of love for his newly deceased wife Katharina. The architectural monument with its charming architecture is therefore regarded by many as the most romantic place in the country - with a magnificent view over Stuttgart. The Tomb Chapel lies in an exposed position above the Neckar valley and was built between 1820 and 1824. King Wilhelm deliberately chose the location of the former tribal castle of the dukes of Württemberg for his memorial. It was one of the favorite places of his late queen.

"Love never ceases" - The inscription above the main entrance is a promise which King William I made with the construction of the tomb chapel. After the sudden death of his wife, Queen Katharina, on January 9, 1819, King Wilhelm opened a competition for the construction of the chapel. He chose the design of the court architect Giovanni Salucci. Later the king and his older daughter Marie Friederike Charlotte of Württemberg also found their final rest here.

The Blühende Barock Ludwigsburg: Around the Residenzschloss, the Blühende Barock offers around 30 hectares a unique park landscape. Splendid gardening of different epochs and regions awaits visitors. From roses to the pharmacy garden, from the Japanese to the award-winning Sardinian garden - refined arrangements catch your eye at every corner. The colorful flower and gravel coils in the south of the complex invite you to a leisurely stroll. In addition, constantly changing exhibitions and flower displays are interesting highlights, especially the pumpkin exhibition in autumn. Even the little ones will not be bored: the fantastic magic world in the fairytale garden with its countless attractions is a fascinating place for children.

The Urach waterfall: The Urach waterfall, probably the most beautiful waterfall of the Swabian Alb, is situated in the beautiful Cornish valley on the outskirts of Bad Urach. The karst spring falls here from 37m height in the free fall into the depth and flows another 50m over a steep sloping. Particularly nice at the Urach waterfall is that you can look at it from different perspectives. From below you can see how the waterfall first falls 37 meters into the depth and then flows in cascades further down into the valley. As you climb the steep steps on the side of the falls, you will always get new impressions of this nature play.

Pristina, also spelled Prishtina or Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the homonymous municipality and district.

The city has a majority Albanian population, alongside other smaller communities. With a population of about 500,000, Pristina is the second-largest Albanian-speaking city in the world.  Geographically, it is located in the north-eastern part of Kosovo close to the Goljak mountains. The city is situated some 250 kilometres north-east of Tirana, 90 kilometres north of Skopje, 520 kilometres south of Belgrade and 300 kilometres east of Podgorica.

During the Paleolithic Age, what is now the area of Pristina was envolved by the Vinča culture. Pristina was home to several Illyrian and Roman people at the classical times. The king of the Dardanian Kingdom, Bardyllis brought various tribes together in the area of Pristina in the 4th century BC, establishing the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient city of Ulpiana, that was considered one of the most important Roman cities in the Balkan peninsula. In the middle ages, Pristina was an important town in Medieval Serbia and also the royal estate of Stefan Milutin, Stefan Uros III, Stefan Dusan, Stefan Uros V and Vuk Brankovic.

When the Ottomans conquered the Balkan peninsula, Pristina was classified as an important mining and trading center on the market, due to its strategic position near the rich mining town of Novo Brdo. The city was known for its trade fairs and items, such as goatskin and goat hair, as well as gunpowder produced by artisans from Pristina in 1485. The first mosque in Pristina was built in the late 14th century, while under the Serbian rule. Pristina has always been considered as a city where tolerance and coexistence in terms of religion and culture has been part of the society in the last centuries.

Being the capital city, Pristina is considered as the heart of Kosovo because of its central location and its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education, service, research and healthcare. Almost all domestic and foreign companies, media and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city.

The name of the city is derived from a Slavic form *Prišьčь, a possessive adjective from the personal name *Prišьkъ, (preserved in the Kajkavian surname Prišek, in the Old Polish personal name Parzyszek, and in the Polish surname Pryszczyk) and the derivational suffix -ina 'belonging to X and his kin'.[citation needed] The name is most likely a patronymic of the personal name *Prišь, preserved as a surname in Sorbian Priš, and Polish Przybysz, a hypocoristic of the Slavic personal name Pribyslavъ.

A false etymology[citation needed] connects the name Priština with the Serbian word prišt (пришт), meaning 'ulcer' or 'tumour', referring to its 'boiling'. However, this explanation cannot be correct, as Slavic place names ending in -ina corresponding either or both to an adjective or the name of an inhabitant lacking this suffix are built from personal names or denote a person and never derive, in these conditions, from common nouns (SNOJ 2007: loc. cit.). The inhabitants of this city call themselves Prishtinali in local Gheg Albanian or Prištevci (Приштевци) in the local Serbian dialect.

Pristina is the primary tourist destination in Kosovo as well as the main air gateway to the country.[58] It is known as a university center of students from neighbouring countries as Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. In 2012, Tourism in Pristina attracted 36,186 foreign visitors.[59] which represents 74.2%[60] Most foreign tourists come from Albania, Turkey, Germany, United States, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, with the number of visitors from elsewhere growing every year.[61]

The city has a large number of luxury hotels, modern restaurants, bars, pubs and very large nightclubs. Coffee bars are a representative icon of Pristina and they can be found almost everywhere. The largest hotels of the city are the Swiss Diamond and the Grand Hotel Prishtina situated in the heart of the city. Other major hotels present in Pristina include the Emerald Hotel, Sirius Hotel and Hotel Garden.

Some of the most visited sights near the city include the Batlava Lake and Marble Cave, which are also among the most visited places in country.[62] Pristina has played a very important role during the World War II, being a shelter for Jews, whose cemeteries now can be visited.

As the capital city of the Republic of Kosovo, it is the center of cultural and artistic development of all Albanians that lives in Kosovo. The Department of cultural affairs is just one of the segments that arranges the cultural events, which make Pristina one of the cities with the most emphasized cultural and artistic traditions. Pristina is home to the largest cultural institutions of the country, such as the National Theatre of Kosovo, National Archaeology, Ethnography and Natural science Museum, National Art Gallery and the Ethnological Museum. Among the local institutions are the National Library of Kosovo which has more than 1.8 million books, periodicals, maps, atlases, microfilms and other library materials.

There are many foreign cultural institutions in Pristina, including the Albanian Albanological Institute, the German Goethe-Institut and Friedrich Ebert Foundation.[ Other cultural centers in Pristina are, the French Alliance Française and the British Council. The Information Office of the Council of Europe was also established in Pristina.