The modern city of Saarbrücken was created in 1909 by the merger of the three cities of Saarbrücken (now calledAlt-Saarbrücken),St. Johann a. d. Saar, andMalstatt-Burbach. It was the industrial and transport centre of the Saar coal basin. Products included iron and steel, sugar, beer, pottery, optical instruments, machinery, and construction materials.
Historic landmarks in the city include the stone bridge across theSaar (1546), the Gothic church of St. Arnual, the 18th-centurySaarbrücken Castle, and the old part of the town, theSankt Johanner Markt (Market of St. Johann).
Saarbrücken has an international airport (Flughafen Saarbrücken) in the borough of Saarbrücken-Ensheim. The main campus of theUniversity of the Saarland (Universität des Saarlandes) is located within the city forest of Saarbrücken-St. Johann, while the university hospital (Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes) can be found inHomburg. The public broadcaster of the Saarland,Saarländischer Rundfunk (Saarlandian Broadcasting), has its seat on the Halberg Mountain in Saarbrücken-Brebach-Fechingen, and its transmission mast (Sendemast Halberg) can be seen from afar.
In the 20th century, Saarbrücken was twice separated from Germany: from 1920 to 1935 as capital of theTerritory of the Saar Basin and from 1947 to 1956 as capital of theSaar Protectorate.
In modern German,Saarbrücken literally translates toSaar bridges (Brücken is the plural ofBrücke), and indeed there are about a dozen bridges across the Saar river. However, the name actually predates the oldest bridge in the historic centre of Saarbrücken, theAlte Brücke, by at least 500 years.
The nameSaar stems from theCeltic wordsara (streaming water), and theRoman name of the river,Saravus.[6]
There are two hypotheses about the origin of the second part of the name Saarbrücken. Most popular states that the historical name of the town,Sarabrucca, derived from theCeltic wordbriga (hill, orrock,big stone[6]), which becameBrocken (which meansrock orboulder) inHigh German. The castle ofSarabrucca was located on a large rock by the name ofSaarbrocken overlooking the river Saar.[7] Another opinion holds that the historical name of the town,Sarabrucca, derived from theOld High German wordBrucca(in German), meaningbridge, or more precisely acorduroy road, which was also used in fords. Next to the castle, there was a ford allowing land-traffic to cross the Saar.[8]
In the last centuries BC, theMediomatrici settled in the Saarbrücken area.[9] When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in the first century BC, the area was incorporated into theRoman Empire.
From the first century AD to the fifth century,[10] there was theGallo-Roman settlement calledvicus Saravus west of Saarbrücken'sHalberg hill,[11] on theroads fromMetz toWorms and fromTrier toStrasbourg.[8]Since the first or second century AD,[8] a wooden bridge, later upgraded to stone,[7] connectedvicus Saravus with the south-western bank of the Saar, today's St Arnual, where at least oneRoman villa was located.[12]In the third century AD, aMithras shrine was built in a cave inHalberg hill, on the eastern bank of the Saar river, next to today's old "Osthafen" harbor,[13] and a smallRoman camp was constructed at the foot of Halberg hill[11] next to the river.[10]
Toward the end of the fourth century, theAlemanni destroyed the castra andvicus Saravus, removing permanent human presence from the Saarbrücken area for almost a century.[8]
The Saar area came under the control of theFranks towards the end of the fifth century. In the sixth century, theMerovingians gave the villageMerkingen, which had formed on the ruins of the villa on the south-western end of the (in those times still usable) Roman bridge, to theBishopric of Metz. Between 601 and 609, Bishop Arnual founded a community of clerics, aStift, there. Centuries later theStift, and in 1046Merkingen, took on his name, giving birth toSt Arnual.[8]
The oldest documentary reference to Saarbrücken is a deed of donation from 999, which documents thatEmperor Otto III gave the "castellum Sarabrucca" (Saarbrücken castle) to the Bishops of Metz. The Bishops gave the area to theCounts ofSaargau as afief.[8] By 1120, the county of Saarbrücken had been formed and a small settlement around the castle developed. In 1168,Emperor Barbarossa ordered theslighting of Saarbrücken because of afeud with Count Simon I. The damage cannot have been grave, as the castle continued to exist.[14]
In 1321/1322[7] Count Johann I ofSaarbrücken-Commercy gave city status to the settlement of Saarbrücken and the fishing village of St Johann on the opposite bank of the Saar, introducing a joint administration and emancipating the inhabitants fromserfdom.[9]
From 1381 to 1793 the counts ofNassau-Saarbrücken were the main local rulers. In 1549,Emperor Charles V prompted the construction of theAlte Brücke (old bridge) connecting Saarbrücken and St Johann. At the beginning of the 17th century,Count Ludwig II ordered the construction of a new Renaissance-style castle on the site of the old castle, and founded Saarbrücken's oldestsecondary school, theLudwigsgymnasium. During theThirty Years' War, the population of Saarbrücken was reduced to just 70 by 1637, down from 4500 in 1628. During theFranco-Dutch War,King Louis XIV's troops burned down Saarbrücken in 1677, almost completely destroying the city such that just 8 houses remained standing.[9] The area was incorporated into France for the first time in the 1680s. In 1697 France was forced to relinquish the Saar province, but from 1793 to 1815 regained control of the region.
During the reign ofPrince William Henry from 1741 to 1768, the coal mines were nationalized and his policies created aproto-industrialized economy, laying the foundation forSaarland's later highly industrialized economy. Saarbrücken was booming, and Prince William Henry spent on building and on infrastructure like theSaarkran rivercrane (1761), far beyond his financial means. However, the famousbaroque architectFriedrich Joachim Stengel created not only theSaarkran, but many iconic buildings that still shape Saarbrücken's face today, like theFriedenskirche (Peace Church), which was finished in 1745, theOld City Hall (1750), the catholicSt. John'sBasilica (1754), and the famousLudwigskirche (1775), Saarbrücken's landmark.[9]
At the start of theFranco-Prussian War, Saarbrücken was the first target of the French invasion force which drove off the Prussian vanguard and occupied Alt-Saarbrücken on 2 August 1870. Oral tradition has it that 14-year-old French PrinceNapoléon Eugène Louis Bonaparte fired his first cannon in this battle, an event commemorated by theLulustein memorial in Alt-Saarbrücken. On 4 August 1870 the French left Saarbrücken, driven away towards Metz in theBattle of Spicheren on 6 August 1870. Saarbrücken would remain the only German territory occupied by French forces during the conflict.
In 1909 the cities of Saarbrücken, St Johann and Malstatt-Burbach merged and formed the major city of Saarbrücken with a population of over 100,000.
DuringWorld War I, factories and railways in Saarbrücken were bombed by British forces. TheRoyal Naval Air Service raided Saarbrücken with 11 DH4s on 17 October 1917, and a week later with 9 HP11s.[15] TheRoyal Air Force raided Saarbrücken's railway station with 5 DH9s on 31 July 1918, on which occasion one DH9 crashed near the town centre.[16]
Saarbrücken became capital of theSaar territory established in 1920. Under theTreaty of Versailles (1919), theSaar coal mines were made the exclusive property of France for a period of 15 years as compensation for the destruction of French mines during theFirst World War. The treaty also provided for aplebiscite, at the end of the 15-year period, to determine the territory's future status, and in 1935 more than 90% of the electorate voted for reunification with Germany, while only 0.8% voted for unification with France. The remainder wanted to rejoin Germany but not while the Nazis were in power. This "status quo" group voted for maintenance of the League of Nations' administration. In 1935, the Saar territory rejoined Germany and formed a district under the name Saarland.
Saarbrücken was heavilybombed inWorld War II.[17]In total 1,234 people (1.1 percent of the population) in Saarbrücken were killed in bombing raids from 1942 to 1945.[18] 11,000 homes were destroyed and 75 percent of the city left in ruins. Today more than a third of the city consists of buildings from before 1945.[19]
The BritishRoyal Air Force (RAF) raided Saarbrücken at least 10 times. Often employingarea bombing, the RAF used a total of at least 1,495 planes to attack Saarbrücken, killing a minimum of 635 people and heavily damaging more than 8,400 buildings, of which more than 7,700 were completely destroyed, thusdehousing more than 50,000 people.[17] The first major raid on Saarbrücken was undertaken by 291 aircraft of the RAF on 29 July 1942, targeting industrial facilities. Losing nine aircraft, the bombers destroyed almost 400 buildings, damaging more than 300 others, and killed more than 150 people.[20] On 28 August 1942, 113 RAF planes raided Saarbrücken doing comparatively little damage due to widely scattered bombing.[20] After the RAF mistakenly bombedSaarlouis instead of Saarbrücken on 1 September 1942, it raided Saarbrücken with 118 planes on 19 September 1942, causing comparatively little damage as the bombing scattered to the west of Saarbrücken due to ground haze.[20] There were small raids with 28 Mosquitos[20] on 30 April 1944, with 33 Mosquitos[20] on 29 June 1944, and with just 2 Mosquitos[20] on 26 July 1944. At the request of the American Third Army, the RAF put on a large raid with more than 500Avro Lancaster heavy bombers against Saarbrücken on 5 October 1944, to block and destroy supply lines, especially the railway. Only three Lancasters were lost and destroyed large parts of Malstatt and nearly all of Altstadt of Saarbrücken.[20] The RAF made three raids on the railway yards during day of 13 January, that night and the following day of 14 January with 158, 274, and 134 aircraft, respectively; the nighttime raid was rated as "extremely accurate and effective".[21]
The8th US Air Force raided Saarbrücken at least 16 times, from 4 October 1943, to 9 November 1944. Targeting mostly the marshalling yards, a total of at least 2,387 planes of the 8th USAF killed a minimum of 543 people and heavily damaged more than 4,400 buildings, of which more than 700 were completely destroyed, thus depriving more than 2,300 people of shelter.[17]Donald J. Gott andWilliam E. Metzger, Jr. were posthumously awarded theMedal of Honor for their actions during the bombing run on 9 November 1944.
Machine-gun emplacement of a bunker. Saarbrücken, 1940.M24, donated by veterans of the 70th US Infantry, facing ruins of fortifications at Spicheren Heights
On the ground, Saarbrücken was defended by the347th Infantry Division commanded byWolf-Günther Trierenberg in 1945.[22] TheUS 70th Infantry Division was tasked with punching through theSiegfried Line and taking Saarbrücken. As the fortifications were unusually strong, it first had to take the Siegfried Line fortifications on the French heights nearSpicheren overlooking Saarbrücken. ThisSpichern-Stellung had been constructed in 1940 after the French had fallen back on theMaginot Line during thePhoney War. The 276th Infantry Regiment attackedForbach on 19 February 1945, and a fierce battle ensued, halting the American advance at the rail-road tracks cutting through Forbach on 22 February 1945.[23] The 274th and 275th Infantry Regiments took Spicheren on 20 February 1945.[23] When the 274th Infantry Regiment captured the Spicheren Heights[23] on 23 February 1945, after a heavy battle on the previous day, the Germans counter-attacked for days, but by 27 February 1945, the heights were fully under American control.[24] A renewed attack on 3 March 1945, allowed units of the 70th Infantry Division to enterStiring-Wendel and the remainder of Forbach. By 5 March 1945, all of Forbach and major parts of Stiring-Wendel had been taken. However, fighting for Stiring-Wendel, especially for theSimon mine, continued for days.[23] After the German defenders of Stiring-Wendel fell back to Saarbrücken on 12 and 13 March 1945,[25] the 70th Infantry Division still faced a strong segment of the Siegfried Line, which had been reinforced[26] around Saarbrücken as late as 1940. After having the German troops south of the Saar fall back across the Saar at night, the German defenders of Saarbrücken retreated early on 20 March 1945. The 70th Infantry Division flanked Saarbrücken by crossing the Saar north-west of Saarbrücken. The 274th Infantry Regiment entered Saarbrücken on 20 March 1945, fully occupying it the following day, thus ending the war for Saarbrücken.[25]
In 1945, Saarbrücken temporarily became part of theFrench Zone of Occupation. In 1947, France created the nominally politically independentSaar Protectorate and merged it economically with France to exploit the area's vast coal reserves. Saarbrücken became capital of the new Saar state. Areferendum in 1955 came out with over two-thirds of the voters rejecting an independent Saar state. The area rejoined theFederal Republic of Germany on 1 January 1957, sometimes calledKleine Wiedervereinigung (little reunification). Economic reintegration would, however, take many more years. Saarbrücken became capital of theBundesland (federal state) Saarland. After the administrative reform of 1974, the city had a population of more than 200,000.
Saarkran, reconstructed next to William-Henry-Bridge in 1991
From 1990 to 1993, students and an arts professor from the town first secretly, then officially, createdan invisible memorial to Jewish cemeteries. It is located on the fore-court of the Saarbrücken Castle.
On 9 March 1999 at 4:40 am, there was a bomb attack on the controversialWehrmachtsausstellung exhibition next to Saarbrücken Castle, resulting in minor damage to theVolkshochschule building housing the exhibition and the adjoiningSchlosskirche church; this attack did not cause any injuries.[27]
Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. TheKöppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate).[28]
Climate data for Saarbrücken (1991–2020 normals, extremes since 1935)
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.
Saarbrücken has a population of about 180,000. In 1957, whenSaar Protectorate and Saarbrücken transformed toSaarland and became a part ofWest Germany, it had a population of about 125,000. In 1960s manyItalian guest workers came to Saarbrücken, since then Italians are the largest number of foreigners in Saarbrücken. The 2nd largest foreign groups are theFrench people due to its former part of France and the fact that Saarbrücken is located on the French border. Saarbrücken reached its highest number of population in 1975 when it had about 205,000 people. With population of about 180,000 people today Saarbrücken is the 2nd smallest German state capital afterSchwerin.
Results of the second round of the 2019 mayoral election
The current mayor of Saarbrücken is Uwe Conradt of theChristian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2019. The most recent mayoral election was held on 26 May 2019, with a runoff held on 9 June, and the results were as follows:
The city is served bySaarbrücken Airport (SCN). However, the airport only provides direct routes to limited destinations. The nearest larger international airport isFrankfurt Airport, located 169 km (105 mi) north east of the city centre.
Saarbrücken is also the home of the main campus ofSaarland University (Universität des Saarlandes). There are several research institutes and centres on or near the campus, including:
Furthermore, Saarbrücken houses the administration of theFranco-German University (Deutsch-Französische Hochschule), a French-German cooperation of 180 institutions of tertiary education mainly from France and Germany but also from Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Great Britain, Russia and Switzerland, which offers bi-national French-German degree programs and doctorates as well as tri-national degree programs.
Saarbrücken houses several other institutions of tertiary education as well:
theHöhere Berufsfachschule für Wirtschaftsinformatik (HBFS-WI) providing higher vocational education and awarding the degree "Staatlich geprüfte(r) Wirtschaftsinformatiker(in)" (English: "state-examined business business informatics/software engineer")
With the end of coal mining in the Saar region, Saarbrücken'sFachhochschule for mining, theFachhochschule für Bergbau Saar, was closed at the beginning of the 21st century. TheRoman Catholic Diocese of Trier'sKatholische Hochschule für Soziale Arbeit, a Fachhochschule for social work, was closed in 2008 for cost cutting reasons. The Saarland's Fachhochschule for administrative personnel working for the government, theFachhochschule für Verwaltung des Saarlandes, was moved from Saarbrücken toGöttelborn in 2012.
Saarbrücken houses several institutions of primary and secondary education. Notable is the Saarland's oldestgrammar school, theLudwigsgymnasium, which was founded in 1604 as alatin school. The building of Saarbrücken's bi-lingual French-GermanDeutsch-Französisches Gymnasium, founded in 1961 and operating as alaboratory school under theÉlysée Treaty, also houses theÉcole française de Sarrebruck et Dilling, a French primary school which offers bi-lingual German elements. Together with severalKindergartens offering bi-lingual French-German education, Saarbrücken thus offers a full bi-lingual French-German formal education.
Tbilisser Platz, Saarbrücken named afterTbilisi, Georgia
Saarbrücken is a fellow member of the QuattroPole union of cities, along withLuxembourg,Metz, andTrier (formed by cities from three neighbouring countries: Germany, Luxembourg and France).
^After the Battle Magazine, Issue 170, November 2015, page 36
^abcd70th Regional Readiness Command (10 November 2004)."Abbreviated History of the 70th Infantry Division"(PDF).taken from "The 50th Anniversary program book of the 70th Division (Training)". Retrieved10 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Charlie Pence (1 February 2013)."The Battle for Spicheren Heights".taken from "Trailblazer" magazine, Fall 1997, pp. 10–12. Retrieved10 May 2013.
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