Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken is the capital and largest city of Saarland, Germany. It has many people and is important for work, shopping, and culture. The city is next to the Saar River, which flows into the Moselle. It is close to France and is Germany’s second-westernmost capital city after Düsseldorf.

The city of Saarbrücken was made in 1909 by joining three smaller cities: Saarbrücken (now called Alt-Saarbrücken), St. Johann a. d. Saar, and Malstatt-Burbach. It became a key place for making things like iron, steel, sugar, beer, and machinery.

Location of Saarbrücken within the Saarland

Famous places in Saarbrücken include a stone bridge from 1546, a Gothic church named St. Arnual, the 18th-century Saarbrücken Castle, and an old market called Sankt Johanner Markt. The city has an airport, Flughafen Saarbrücken, and the main part of the University of the Saarland is inside the city forest.

In the 1900s, Saarbrücken was not part of Germany for some years: first from 1920 to 1935 and again from 1947 to 1956.

Etymology

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

There are two ideas about where 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 above the river. Another idea says Sarabrucca came from an old German word for "bridge" or a special kind of road. Near the castle, people could cross the Saar river safely.

History

Roman Empire

In ancient times, the Mediomatrici people lived near Saarbrücken. When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, the area became part of the Roman Empire.

Ruins of the Roman camp Römerkastell

From the first to the fifth century AD, there was a settlement called vicus Saravus near Saarbrücken. It was on important roads and had a bridge over the Saar River. In the third century AD, a temple was built on a hill nearby.

Middle Ages to 18th century

See also: History of Saarbrücken Castle

The Mithras shrine at Halberg hill

The Saar region came under Frankish control. In the sixth century, a village was given to the Bishopric of Metz.

The oldest record of Saarbrücken is from 999. It shows that Emperor Otto III gave the land to the Bishops of Metz. By 1120, a small settlement grew around a castle. In 1321/1322, Saarbrücken became a city.

From 1381 to 1793, the counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken ruled the area. In 1549, a bridge was built linking two parts of the city. In the early 1600s, a new castle was built and a school was founded. During the Thirty Years' War, the city's population became very small. In 1677, during the Franco-Dutch War, French troops burned down most of the city.

19th century

Lulustein in 1871, commemorating Prince Louis Bonaparte's first cannon shot

In 1793, French troops captured Saarbrücken. After 1815, it became part of the Prussian Rhine Province. The area's coal and iron were used to build railways, ironworks, and canals.

At the start of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Saarbrücken was the first city the French tried to take.

20th century

In 1909, Saarbrücken, St Johann, and Malstatt-Burbach joined to form one city.

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

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

World War II

Saarbrücken was heavily bombed during World War II. Many buildings were destroyed.

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, it became the capital of the Saar Protectorate. In 1955, a vote decided against an independent Saar state, and the region rejoined Germany in 1957. After changes in 1974, the city's population grew larger.

Geography

The climate around Saarbrücken has mild differences between hot and cold temperatures, with rain all 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 about 180,000 people. In 1957, when the Saar Protectorate joined Saarland and West Germany, the city had around 125,000 people. In the 1960s, many Italian workers came to live in Saarbrücken. Italians became the largest group of people from other countries there. The next largest group is the French people because Saarbrücken was once part of France and is near the French border. In 1975, the city had the most people, about 205,000. Today, Saarbrücken is the second smallest capital city in Germany, after Schwerin.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1871	7,680	—
1895	17,082	+122.4%
1910	105,089	+515.2%
1919	110,623	+5.3%
1927	125,020	+13.0%
1935	129,085	+3.3%
1946	89,709	−30.5%
1951	111,450	+24.2%
1961	131,732	+18.2%
1970	128,251	−2.6%
1975	205,366	+60.1%
1980	193,554	−5.8%
1985	186,229	−3.8%
1990	191,694	+2.9%
2000	183,257	−4.4%
2011	175,853	−4.0%
2022	179,296	+2.0%
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.

Largest groups of foreign residents
Country of birth	Population (2022)
Italy	4,051
France	2,492
Turkey	2,345
Ukraine	2,138
Romania	1,755
Syria	1,524
Croatia	1,346
Poland	1,230
Greece	1,176
Bulgaria	1,083
Spain	1,000

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.

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 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. Some schools have closed, like the botanical garden.

Sport

Saarbrücken has many sports teams. The most famous is the football team 1. FC Saarbrücken. This team plays at the Ludwigsparkstadion. It also has a reserve team and a women's section.

Another football team in the city is SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken. Saarbrücken is also home to the Saarland Hurricanes, a top American football team. Their junior team won the German Junior Bowl in 2013.

The Saarlandhalle hosts many sports events. It holds 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.