Host Nation Update, March 21, 2025
Demonstrations in Stuttgart on Saturday – Right-wing and left-wing groups march through Stuttgart at the same time – police are alarmed
The call for a counter-demonstration is distributed throughout Stuttgart with pink spray chalk: People are mobilizing for a demonstration against right-wing groups coming to Stuttgart on Saturday. The police and the city are preparing for several exhausting hours in the afternoon – and are warning of a standstill of traffic.
On the one hand, there are groups from the “Querdenken” movement. These can be found on Telegram in chats with names such as “Politics and the media hand in hand – this is damaging our country” or “Baden-Württemberg is standing up”. The demonstration by these groups is one of 16 across Germany on Saturday – one in each federal state – and has the very general title “Together for Germany”.
These demonstrations cannot be categorized as right-wing extremist or neo-Nazi, but are clearly attracting groups from the extreme spectrum. For days, groups have been mobilizing on social media to participate, which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the State of Baden-Württemberg classifies as such.
These include “Zollern-Jugend Aktiv”, “Pforzheim Revolte”, which can be located in Baden-Württemberg, but also supra-regionally active groups such as “Unitas Germanica” and “Störtrupp”. Many of these right-wing groups are still quite young, some of which only emerged last year. The police are not yet able to say much about the operation, the planning will only be finalized on Friday when all the framework data is known. Among other things, cooperation talks with the city as the assembly authority were still ongoing on Thursday. The main aim of the police operation – as in similar situations – will be to keep the right-wing groups and the counter-demonstrations apart. Antifa groups will also be taking part in the counter-demonstrations.
The city expects traffic problems
The heart of the event will be at the Stadtgarten near the university’s city center campus. The kick-off rally “Together for Germany” is scheduled to take place there at 2 pm. Counter-demonstrations have been registered at several locations in the surrounding area, the central demonstration of “Stuttgart against the Right” on Keplerstraße between the university high-rise buildings K1 and K2. “We expect that there will be traffic obstructions in the City ring area on Saturday afternoon,” says Sven Matis, the city’s spokesperson. This refers to car traffic. People are advised to switch to public transport. The task of the city as the assembly authority and the police is to “give both groups the opportunity to exercise their right to demonstrate”. This also includes allowing counter-demonstrations within sight of the rally that the participants are protesting against – taking into account the necessary safety precautions. (SN 20 Mar 25)
Long Night of Museums in Stuttgart – Full of highlights: The Long Night on Saturday makes Stuttgart shine
Around 60 Stuttgart museums, galleries, industrial monuments and off-spaces will open their doors for a night full of art, culture and partying on Saturday, March 22 from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. during the Long Night of Museums. The organizer Lift Stuttgart presents a firework display of attractions.
Time: The programs for the Long Night of Museums this Saturday, March 22, start at 6 pm and officially end at 1 am.Tickets: Tickets cost 22 euros (reduced 16 euros) and are also valid as VVS tickets (from 12 noon until closing time), as well as for the shuttle buses on the Tour Hafen and Tour Cannstatt. They are available at all 60 Long Night stations and at www.lange-nacht.de.
Young people: The Youth Protection Act applies. This means that young people aged 16 and over may attend the event unaccompanied until midnight at the latest. If 16/17-year-olds wish to stay longer, a person with parental authority/authorized representative must take over supervisory duties.Safety: The participating establishments, especially the larger ones, deploy their security staff for the Long Night. It is recommended that you only take small bags with you. In some museums, larger bags must be handed in for security reasons. This can cost valuable time.
Information in the evening:
On March 22, you can find all the important information from 3 p.m. at the Lift Stuttgart information stand on Schlossplatz (located between the Alte Kanzlei restaurant and the Landesmuseum). (SN, Mar 20)
Alb Abstieg of the A8 – Autobahn towards Stuttgart closed for three days
Between March 21 (10 p.m.) and March 24 (5 a.m.), there will be no traffic at all on the Albabstieg section of the Autobahn 8 in the direction of Karlsruhe.
According to Autobahn GmbH, this is due to extensive maintenance work on the road and bridges between the Ulm-West and Mühlhausen junctions. During this time, the Merklingen and Hohenstadt junctions in the direction of Stuttgart/Karlsruhe will be closed. The A8 in the direction of Munich is not affected. The aim is to guide vehicles quickly onto the detour route and prevent traffic from taking alternative routes. To avoid traffic chaos on supposed shortcuts, Autobahn GmbH is appealing to all road users to follow only the official detour and to switch off their navigation systems. Rest areas and parking lots are also affected by the closure. The Aichen service area will not be accessible from 6 p.m. on March 21 until the end of the full closure at 5 a.m. on March 24. All other parking lots between the Ulm-West and Mühlhausen junctions in the direction of Karlsruhe will be closed from March 19 in the afternoon.
Drivers traveling to Mannheim/Heilbronn from the south should take the A7 and A6 from the Ulm/Elchingen junction. Anyone traveling to Stuttgart/Karlsruhe should take the route from the Ulm-West junction via Geislingen an der Steige/Göppingen via the B10 and B313 to the Wendlingen junction. Tip for local traffic: From the Ulm-West junction, take the B10 and B466 to the Mühlhausen junction. The A8 is one of the oldest stretches of Autobahn in Germany in the Alb ascent and descent area. The Albabstiegstrasse was completed in 1937 and the Albaufstiegstrasse in 1957, each with two lanes. They have not been significantly upgraded since then. It has also recently been decided that the Albaufstieg section of the A8 freeway between Mühlhausen and Hohenstadt can be widened to six lanes and rebuilt. The Albaufstieg on the A8 is part of the busy east-west link and is considered a congestion hotspot. The Autobahn section is the last four-lane bottleneck between Stuttgart and Ulm. Until now, the route has run on divided carriageways and is steep and winding. The new route from the Filstal valley to Merklingen is to be flatter and 3.8 kilometers shorter than the existing route. The A8 will then run over two bridges and through two tunnels. A date for the expansion has not yet been set. (SN, Mar 20)
On the airfield in Böblingen – Motorworld season opener on Sunday
Every spring, the Motorworld season opener attracts fans and friends of sports cars, classic cars, motorcycles and tuning – and this Sunday, March 23, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Flugfeld. “Visitors can look forward to a day full of driving culture, exchange and exciting street stories,” say the organizers. Numerous exhibitors will also be presenting vehicles, products and services relating to mobility on a dealer mile. The Böblingen city council would like to point out that Flugfeld-Allee between Margret-Fusbahn-Straße and Wolfgang-Brumme-Allee will therefore be fully closed. A detour will be signposted via Konrad-Zuse-Straße. However, pedestrians can pass through at any time.
A special feature at the season opener is the Audi S1 Hoonitron, in which US drift star Ken Block drifted through the streets, casinos and parking garages of Las Vegas for the “Electrikhana” film. “Visually, the electrically powered one-off is based on the legendary Audi Sport quattro S1, while technically it combines the highlights of Audi’s e-drives from series production and motorsport,” the organizers write in the announcement. Other exhibitors include Mechatronik with individual vehicle concepts, H&R with suspensions and Edelweiss with rims that transform ordinary cars into unusual sculptures. ABT and Saker Sportscars will also be on site with their racing team. Car manufacturer Genesis will be offering test drives in the brand’s latest models. Special visitor vehicles that stand out due to their history, design or horsepower can park in the show parking lot. Anyone wishing to park there must first reserve a space in the online ticket store for 15 euros (motorcycles 12 euros). As demand is greater than supply, spaces will be allocated by online voting. In addition, the Marktkauf site on the Hulb (Otto-Lilienthal-Straße 24) will be used as a visitor parking lot (5 euros/vehicle). A shuttle bus will run regularly from here (return trip 3 euros/person, children under ten travel free of charge). All parking and shuttle tickets can be booked in advance in the online ticket store.
Further information is available online at www.motorworld.de/event/saisonauftakt-stuttgart/