Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. It has 181,959 inhabitants and serves as Saarland's administrative, commercial, and cultural center. The city is located on the Saar River, a tributary of the Moselle, and borders the French department of Moselle. It is Germany’s second-westernmost state capital after Düsseldorf.

The modern city of Saarbrücken was created in 1909 by merging three cities: Saarbrücken (now called Alt-Saarbrücken), St. Johann a. d. Saar, and Malstatt-Burbach. It became an important industrial and transport hub for the Saar coal basin, producing items like iron, steel, sugar, beer, pottery, optical instruments, machinery, and construction materials.

Historic landmarks in Saarbrücken include a stone bridge from 1546, the Gothic church of St. Arnual, the 18th-century Saarbrücken Castle, and the old town market called Sankt Johanner Markt. The city also has an international airport, Flughafen Saarbrücken, and the main campus of the University of the Saarland is located within the city forest.

In the 20th century, Saarbrücken was separated from Germany twice: first from 1920 to 1935 as the capital of the Territory of the Saar Basin, and again from 1947 to 1956 as the capital of the Saar Protectorate.

Etymology

The name Saarbrücken means "Saar bridges" in modern German, even though the town had bridges long before the oldest one there today. The word "Saar" comes from an old Celtic word for "streaming water," and the Romans called the river Saravus.

There are two ideas about where the second part of the name, "brücken," comes from. One idea says the old town name Sarabrucca came from a Celtic word for "hill" or "rock." The castle there stood on a big rock called Saarbrocken above the river. Another idea says Sarabrucca came from an old German word for "bridge" or a special kind of road used in shallow water. Near the castle, people could cross the Saar river safely at a shallow spot.

History

Roman Empire

In ancient times, the Mediomatrici people lived in the area around Saarbrücken. When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in the first century BC, the region became part of the Roman Empire.

From the first to the fifth century AD, there was a Gallo-Roman settlement called vicus Saravus west of Saarbrücken's Halberg hill. It sat on important roads connecting Metz to Worms and Trier to Strasbourg. A wooden bridge, later replaced with stone, linked it to the other side of the Saar River. In the third century AD, a temple was built in a cave on Halberg hill, and a small military camp was set up nearby.

Middle Ages to 18th century

See also: History of Saarbrücken Castle

The Saar region came under Frankish control in the late fifth century. In the sixth century, the Merovingians gave a village called Merkingen to the Bishopric of Metz. Between 601 and 609, Bishop Arnual founded a community of church leaders there, which later became known as St Arnual.

The oldest record of Saarbrücken dates from 999. It shows that Emperor Otto III gave Saarbrücken castle to the Bishops of Metz. The Bishops then gave the land to the Counts of Saargau. By 1120, the county of Saarbrücken was established, and a small settlement grew around the castle. In 1321/1322, Count Johann I granted city status to Saarbrücken and the nearby fishing village of St Johann, uniting them under one government.

From 1381 to 1793, the counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken ruled the area. In 1549, Emperor Charles V ordered the construction of the Alte Brücke (old bridge) linking Saarbrücken and St Johann. In the early 1600s, Count Ludwig II built a new Renaissance-style castle and founded Saarbrücken's oldest secondary school, the Ludwigsgymnasium. During the Thirty Years' War, the city's population dropped to just 70 people. In 1677, during the Franco-Dutch War, French troops burned down most of Saarbrücken, leaving only 8 houses standing.

19th century

In 1793, French troops captured Saarbrücken. After 1815, it became part of the Prussian Rhine Province. The region's coal and iron resources were developed, with railways, ironworks, and canals being built.

At the start of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Saarbrücken was the first target of the French invasion. French forces occupied the city briefly before moving on.

20th century

In 1909, Saarbrücken, St Johann, and Malstatt-Burbach merged into one city with over 100,000 people.

During World War I, factories and railways in Saarbrücken were bombed by British forces.

Saarbrücken became the capital of the Saar territory in 1920. In 1935, after a vote, the region rejoined Germany.

World War II

Saarbrücken was heavily bombed during World War II. Many buildings were destroyed, and large parts of the city were left in ruins.

The city was captured by American forces in March 1945.

After World War II

In 1945, Saarbrücken became part of the French occupation zone. In 1947, France created the Saar Protectorate, and Saarbrücken became its capital. In 1955, a vote decided against an independent Saar state, and the region rejoined Germany in 1957. After administrative changes in 1974, the city's population grew to over 200,000.

Geography

The climate around Saarbrücken has mild differences between hot and cold temperatures, with rain throughout the year. It is known as an Oceanic climate.

Nearby cities include Trier, Luxembourg, Nancy, Metz, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim. Saarbrücken’s public transport connects to Sarreguemines in France and to Völklingen, home to the Völklinger Hütte, a historic steel factory named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.

Demographics

Saarbrücken has a population of about 180,000 people. In 1957, when the Saar Protectorate became part of Saarland and West Germany, the city had around 125,000 people. In the 1960s, many Italian guest workers moved to Saarbrücken, making Italians the largest group of foreigners there. The next largest group is the French people because Saarbrücken used to be part of France and is close to the French border. The city had its most people in 1975, with about 205,000. Today, Saarbrücken is the second smallest capital city in Germany, after Schwerin.

Politics

Mayor

Uwe Conradt has been the mayor of Saarbrücken since 2019. He belongs to the Christian Democratic Union. The last mayoral election took place on May 26, 2019, with a second round of voting on June 9.

City council

The city council works together with the mayor to make decisions for the city. The most recent election for the city council was also held on May 26, 2019.

Infrastructure

Saarbrücken has an airport called Saarbrücken Airport, but it only flies to a few places. The bigger airport nearby is Frankfurt Airport, which is about 169 kilometers away.

Since 2007, fast trains have connected Saarbrücken to Paris from Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof. The city's Saarbahn train goes across the border into France, reaching the city of Sarreguemines.

Saarbrücken is home to Saarland University and many research centers, including the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems. The university offers degrees in both French and German law.

The city also has several other schools, such as the University of Applied Sciences, the University of Arts, and the University of Music. Sadly, some schools have closed, like the botanical garden in 2016 and a few specialized colleges over the years.

Sport

Saarbrücken has many sports teams, with the most famous being the football team 1. FC Saarbrücken, which plays at the Ludwigsparkstadion. This team has a reserve team and a women's section, and has been very successful in the past.

Another football team in the city is SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken. The city is also home to the Saarland Hurricanes, one of the best American football teams in the country. Their junior team won the German Junior Bowl in 2013.

The Saarlandhalle hosts many sports events, including the badminton Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold, which is part of the BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournaments.

International relations

Saarbrücken works together with cities in other countries through special partnerships. It is part of a group called QuattroPole with Luxembourg, Metz, and Trier. These cities are from Germany, Luxembourg, and France.

The city has official partnerships, called "twin towns," with several cities around the world. These include Nantes in France, Tbilisi in Georgia, Cottbus in Germany, and Kovel in Ukraine. Some parts of Saarbrücken also have partnerships with smaller towns in France and other places.

Saarbrücken also has friendly ties with Diriamba in Nicaragua.

Notable people

Arts

• Frédéric Back (1924–2013), Canadian artist and film director of short animated films
• Egbert Baqué (born 1952), gallerist, author and translator
• Margot Benary-Isbert (1889–1979), author
• Ingrid Caven (born 1938), actress
• Inéz (born 1990), singer
• Sandra Cretu (born 1962), singer
• Nicole (born 1964), singer
• Max Ophüls (1902–1957), film director
• Edmond Pottier (1855–1934), French art historian and archaeologist
• Rolf Riehm (1937–2026), composer, oboist and academic teacher
• Carl Röchling (1855–1920), painter and illustrator
• Wolfgang Staudte (1906–1984), film director
• Otto Steinert (1915–1978), photographer
• Manfred Trenz (born 1965), game designer
• Saskia Vester (born 1959), actress and author
• Markus Zahnhausen (born 1965), recorder player

Public service

• Peter Altmeier (1899–1977), politician (Centre, CDU)
• Michel Antoine (1925–2015), French historian
• Karl-Heinz Paque (born 1956), politician (FDP)
• Rudolf Arthur Pfeiffer (1931–2012), German geneticist. He discovered the Pfeiffer syndrome in 1964.
• Walther Poppelreuter (1886–1939), neurologist and psychiatrist
• Alfred Sturm (1888–1962), lieutenant general in World War II
• Rudolf Schmeer (1905–1966), politician (NSDAP) and civil servant
• Walter Schellenberg (1910–1952), senior SS officer
• Gerhard Schröder (1910–1989), politician (CDU)
• Frederic Vester (1925–2003), biochemist
• Hans Wagner (1896–1967), lieutenant general in World War II

Sport

• Christian Hohenadel (born 1976), racing driver
• Jonas Hector (born 1990), footballer
• Adolf Kertész (1892–1920), Hungarian footballer, settled in Saarbrücken
• Werner Klein (born 1950), racing driver and entrepreneur
• Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (born 1963), tennis player and politician
• Lisa Klein (born 1996), cyclist
• Gerd Peehs (born 1942), footballer

Honorary citizens

• Tzvi Avni (born 1927), Israeli composer
• Max Braun, (German Wiki)) (1892–1945), politician and journalist, renown for his fight against Nazism, especially over the Saar status.
• Willi Graf (1918–1943), member of the White Rose resistance group