Host Nation Update, March. 21, 2024
Ludwigsburg Castle “Bluehendes Barrock” opening and Sunday shopping – Will Ludwigsburg sink into traffic chaos this weekend?
The three-day Balloon Blooming Festival is taking place in Ludwigsburg and will kick off the season. And the retailers in Ludwigsburg are also hoping for good weather, including Sunday shopping. However, and this is the other side of the coin, the good weather could not only drive a lot of people into the city center, but also clog up the streets in the city area. As has often happened in the past. Out-of-towners in particular are looking for parking spaces that are as close as possible to “Blüba” and the city center. These quickly reach their capacity limits at busy weekends. The city is aware of the problem and is trying to counteract it. “We want the parking spaces that are empty at weekends to be better used and are therefore drawing particular attention to them,” says Mayor Sebastian Mannl. The two Aldi parking spaces in Marbacher Straße and Martin-Luther-Straße, the parking lot behind the VR-Bank in Schwieberdinger Straße and the parking lot at the tax office are available free of charge, and there is a bus connection to the city center in the immediate vicinity. (Stgt Nachrichten, Mar 21)
25,000 Bosch employees take to the streets against job cuts
Thousands of Bosch employees across Germany have protested against the planned job cuts at the technology company. More than 10,000 people came to the company headquarters in Gerlingen near Stuttgart alone, as the works council and IG Metall announced on Wednesday. Further demonstrations were held in Ansbach, Blaichach/ Immenstadt, Bamberg, Eisenach, Hildesheim, Homburg, Nuremberg and Salzgitter – with a further 15,000 or so participants. They all have a message, said Frank Sell, head of the works council for the supply division, in Gerlingen on Wednesday. “The message is: Stop, we can’t go on like this. We will not be treated like this. Stop these insane job cuts.” They are standing here because they want to talk about opportunities. However, central talks have so far been rejected by the management: “You have to let that roll off your tongue: such a huge company. And then we are told: Staff cuts are to be negotiated site by site. According to the motto: divide and rule.” In recent months, Bosch has repeatedly announced plans to cut jobs worldwide. The main reason given by Bosch was to maintain competitiveness. To date, more than 7,000 jobs across all divisions are at risk – including up to 3,200 in automotive supply. The latter largely concerns German locations in the drive division as well as in the areas of control units, vehicle electronics and software. The redundancies are to be carried out in a socially responsible manner – including through early retirement schemes and qualification programs for growth areas. (Stgt Nachrichten, Mar 21)
Traffic jam and high property damage near Böblingen – Accident causes full closure of the A81
Due to an accident, the A81 had to be completely closed for a time on Tuesday evening between the Böblingen/Sindelfingen and Sindelfingen-Ost junctions. According to police reports, the accident caused damage to property amounting to 20,000 euros and two people sustained minor injuries. A 39-year-old VW Transporter driver and a 58-year-old woman in an Opel were traveling one behind the other in the left-hand lane and had to brake due to traffic. A 70-year-old man driving behind them was unable to brake his Audi in time – the police assume that he had not kept a safe distance – and crashed into the Opel. The Opel was pushed to the left against the crash barrier and crashed into the VW Transporter. A 60-year-old passenger in the Audi and the 58-year-old woman in the Opel suffered minor injuries. They were taken to hospital by the ambulance service. The Audi and the Opel were no longer roadworthy and had to be towed away. During the accident investigation and the subsequent road cleaning work by the highway maintenance department, the road had to be completely closed in places. All the work was completed at around 9.10 p.m. and the highway could be reopened. (SN, Mar 21, 24)
Immersive exhibitions in Stuttgart – Farewell, Tutankhamun! Welcome, Da Vinci!
A year ago, the sales figures for the 360-degree exhibition “Monet’s Garden” in the extension to the Schleyerhalle virtually exploded. The boundaries between illusion and the real world are disappearing thanks to digital technology. You don’t look at originals, but virtually climb right into copies. Since then, more and more organizers have been using the magic word immersive.
From December 2022 to March 2023, the French old master Claude Monet attracted more than 170,000 visitors to Stuttgart alone as a new all-round experience. The follow-up show “Tutankhamun”, which will be leaving Stuttgart on March 28, cannot boast such high numbers. In the end, there will be over 100,000 paying guests for the journey back in time to ancient Egypt, to the mysterious world of the gods and pharaohs. Birgit Hohl, spokesperson for Alegra Exhibition, is not surprised by the decline: “Due to the two VR experiences at ‘Tutankhamun’, it was clear that the number of visitors per day would be different.” The Metaversum celebrated its world premiere in Stuttgart – this is an extra room in which a crazy expedition alongside Howard Carter, the discoverer of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in West Thebes, is possible. To do this, you have to put on virtual reality goggles. In the final spurt, demand has increased enormously once again. Tickets for the Schleyerhalle extension are now available again because the organizers have extended the opening hours. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, you can now visit the exhibition until 10 pm. During the Easter vacations from March 25 to 28, the gates will open at 9 am. Reservations should be made online.
The next immersion in the Schleyerhalle: Stuttgart event agency C2 Concerts will be showing Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” from April 30 to July 28, also in the space currently being used by “Tutankhamun”.
In the audiovisual, immersive 360-degree exhibition, visitors are immersed in the scenario as Leonardo da Vinci imagined and immortalized it. Using state-of-the-art technology, every detail of the painting is zoomed in on, no matter how small, and the meticulously staged reactions of the twelve disciples are shown when Jesus announces: “One of you will betray me!”.
Tickets are available at www.c2concerts.de/tickets and www.easyticket.de as well as by telephone on 0711 2 555 555 and at all known advance booking offices.
(Stgt Nachrichten, Mar 21, 24)