The Night of the Riot - Eckensee
On the night of 20 to 21 June 2020, a police drug check at this ornamental lake sparked Stuttgart's "Krawallnacht", when up to 500 people turned on the police, damaged around 40 shops and looted nine, and an investigation team named after the lake went on to secure 79 convictions.
About this place
In daylight the Eckensee is the picture of civic calm: an angular ornamental lake at the heart of the Oberer Schlossgarten, with fountains splashing in front of the opera house and the square, modernist Landtag of 1961 at its edge. Locals once called it the Epaulette Lake for an outline like a uniform's shoulder piece, then the Theatre Lake after the court theatre rose beside it. On the night of 20 to 21 June 2020, after weeks of open air partying while the pandemic kept the clubs shut, a police drug check on a young man here at about half past eleven drew 200 to 300 people against the officers. The confrontation spilled across the Schlossplatz into the Königstraße and the Marienstraße, where at the peak 400 to 500 people smashed windows, damaged around 40 shops, looted nine, injured 32 officers and damaged 12 patrol cars, until the police regained control at around half past four in the morning. The investigation team that followed was named after this lake, and with around a hundred officers it was the largest Stuttgart had ever formed. Working through witness videos with the help of face recognition specialists, it led to 155 criminal proceedings and 79 convictions, proof that one of the prettiest corners of the city was where its most notorious night of recent years began.
Key facts
- 40 shops damaged — Shops along the Königstraße and the Marienstraße were hit during the riot night, and nine of them were looted.
- 32 officers injured — Police officers were hurt, one with a broken wrist, and twelve patrol cars were damaged before control was restored at around 04:30.
- 79 convictions — Verdicts from 155 criminal proceedings by mid 2025, with sentences ranging from six months on probation to four years and three months.