December 21, 1931 Stuttgart brand des alten schlobes
The Fire of the Old Castle on the 21st Dec. 1931
On December 21, 1931, a fire broke out in the Old Castle and raged for several days. The eastern parts of the building, the Dürnitz as well as the south and east towers were particularly damaged. This dramatic event attracted many onlookers to downtown Stuttgart.On Monday, December 21, 1931, at half past eight in the morning, smoke was discovered in the offices of the police command in the Old Castle, which was coming in through the cracks in the rooms. Since this had happened several times in the past, the incident was initially ignored. Because the smoke initially decreased in intensity, it was assumed that the smoke was caused by the heating stoves being fired up after the weekend.Two hours later, however, there was another smoke development in the offices, which was so heavy that an emergency call was made to the city fire department at 10:39 a.m. Since no smoke could be seen from the outside, the fight was carried out from the inside. The first source of fire was discovered at the corner of the Planie/Karlsplatz building. When the firefighters opened the ceiling with axes, they were met with flames. After 60 hours, the worst was over, but firefighters had to fight recurring fires well into the new year.The huge column of smoke above the burning Old Castle drew thousands into the city center. Even special trains were used to bring onlookers to Stuttgart. According to press reports, up to 30,000 people crowded into Karlsplatz, Planie and Schlossplatz to watch the fire and the extinguishing work. Before the construction work was completed, the Old Castle was destroyed again during the Second World War, particularly in the attack on July 26, 1944. A second reconstruction, again based on designs by Schmitthenner, lasted until 1969.

VG