Stade (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtaːdə]) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (Metropolregion Hamburg). It is the seat of the district named after it. The city was first mentioned in a document from 994.

It includes the bigger villages of Bützfleth, Hagen and Haddorf, which have sub-villages themselves.

Stade is located on the German Timber-Frame Road.

The first human settlers came to the Stade area in 30,000 BC.

Since 1180 Stade belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In early 1208 King Valdemar II of Denmark and his troops conquered Stade. In August Valdemar II's cousin being in enmity with the king, the then Prince-Archbishop Valdemar reconquered the city only to lose it soon after again to Valdemar II. In 1209 Emperor Otto IV persuaded his ally Valdemar II to withdraw into the north of the Elbe, and the deposed Prince-Archbishop Valdemar took Stade.

On 2 May 1209 Otto IV granted important town privileges ("Stadtrecht") to Stade. Otto IV confirmed the burghers to be personally free and recognised them constituting a political entity of their own law, the burgenses and optimi cives of Stade. Property within the municipal boundaries could not be subjected to feudal overlordship and was to be freely inherited without feudal claims to reversion. Fair juridical procedures were constituted and maximal fines fixed. Otto IV obliged himself to prevent burghers from being taken as hostages and to liberate captured burghers.

Les Charlots was a band of French musicians and actors, who were popular in the 1970s. They were first musicians, accompanying Antoine under the name of "Les Problèmes", then they made their own band, becoming rather popular for humoristic songs like "L'Apérobic", "Merci Patron" or "Le Chou Farci".

The group members were Gérard Rinaldi, Jean Sarrus, Gérard Filipelli, Luis Rego and Jean-Guy Fechner. Les Charlots means "the clowns" rather than being a direct reference to Charlie Chaplin, who was generally called Charlot in France.

When the five boys became too old to play the clowns and audiences became too bored, the group attempted solo careers. Gérard Rinaldi (deceased March 2, 2012) became a TV actor, while Jean Sarrus became a TV host. Luis Rego is a movie actor while Jean-Guy Fechner works with his brother, Christian Fechner, a powerful French movie producer. The last member disappeared from the public eye.