The Swabians can really do anything, except for two things: High German – and they readily admit to it – as well as putting an end to celebration. Otherwise everything runs smoothly. In the “Musterländle” (exemplary state) Baden-Wuerttemberg people build perfect and expensive cars of the Mercedes and Porsche variety, they made the industrial city Stuttgart into one of the greenest metropolises in the country, they file the most patents, make good wine, erect splendid artwork, strain Spaetzle (Swabian pasta) and twist Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli). The people from Stuttgart have always made a virtue out of necessity: In the 19th century the poor devils were cut off from the country-wide industrialization, because of the mountains, a lack of transport routes and raw materials. Thus they began to tinker and experiment in their own workshops. Today the city is considered to be the capital of the German Mittelstand (small and mid-sized industry). Despite the large auto factories, and the big family-owned companies, they produce one future technology export hit after the other. So much perfection fosters jealousy, and therefore the supposedly hard-working, cheap, meticulous and narrow-minded Swabian always becomes the butt of the jokes. Of course, you won't find a metropolis here. Instead there are nice shops, nightlife, culture and a thousand good reasons to celebrate: The summer festival, spring festival, wine festival, campus festival, and the hangman's festival. Main thing, a festival.