Stuttgart is the largest and capital city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located in the Southwest of Germany and is the sixth largest city in the country. It has a population of approximately over 600,000 people; when combined with the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region, the population number increases to about 5.3 citizens. Education in Stuttgart is governed by the German state and education is compulsory for children up to the age 18. The educational system in Stuttgart is divided into four levels: Kindergarten Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Higher Education (tertiary education).
Stuttgart is not considered a traditional university city but provides a variety of Higher Education institutes including: University of Stuttgart founded in 1829 and is the fourth biggest university in Baden-Württemberg. University of Hohenheim which was established in 1818 and specialises in Agricultural Science and Forestry. The State Academy of Visual Arts Stuttgart was founded in 1961 and is the biggest art colleges across Germany.
The city is known for its German thought and literature figures including Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Hölderlin. Stuttgart is home to six of Germany's second-highest number of institutions of applied research of the Fraunhofer Society.