93-527: Theater Saarbrücken , officially Saarländisches Staatstheater since 1971, is the state theatre of Saarland in its capital Saarbrücken , Germany. It has several divisions (opera, drama, dance, concert) and offers annually around 30 new productions in around 700 events for more than 200,000 people. Its venues are Großes Haus (Big House), Alte Feuerwache (Old Fire Station), Congresshalle (Conference Hall) and sparte4 (area 4). While theatre in Saarbrücken has
186-539: A Volkshochschule . With the end of coal mining in the Saar region, Saarbrücken's Fachhochschule for mining, the Fachhochschule für Bergbau Saar , was closed at the beginning of the 21st century. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier 's Katholische 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
279-399: A laboratory school under the Élysée Treaty , also houses the École française de Sarrebruck et Dilling , a French primary school which offers bi-lingual German elements. Together with several Kindergartens offering bi-lingual French-German education, Saarbrücken thus offers a full bi-lingual French-German formal education. The city is home to several different teams, most notable of which
372-641: A city agglomeration on the French border, surrounding the capital of Saarbrücken. See also List of places in Saarland . Saarland is divided into six districts ( German : Landkreise ): The following table shows the ten largest cities of Saarland: Saarland is the most religious state in Germany. The adherents of the Catholic Church comprise 56.8% of the population, organised in the two dioceses of Trier (comprising
465-650: A long history, the present main venue was completed in 1938, with plans commissioned by the Nazi regime. Saarbrücken had several venues for theatre before the French Revolution, a theatre at the Schloss Saarbrücken , a comedy house from 1787, and an open-air theatre on the Ludwigsberg. August Wilhelm Iffland was director of the court theatres from 1786 to 1793. During the following period as part of Prussia , there
558-547: A part of West Germany , it had a population of about 125,000. In 1960s many Italian guest workers came to Saarbrücken, since then Italians are the largest number of foreigners in Saarbrücken. The 2nd largest foreign groups are the French 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
651-425: A result, anti-Nazi groups agitated for the Saarland to remain under French administration. However, with most of the population being ethnically German, such views were considered suspect or even treasonous, and therefore found little support. When the original 15-year term was over, a plebiscite was held in the territory on 13 January 1935 in which 90.8 percent of those voting favoured rejoining Germany. Following
744-535: A trio of men enjoying a beer, flanked by baby carriages, the slogan reading "Mutter schafft" (meaning "Mum's at work" in Saarlandish, but plays on the High German word Mutterschaft 'motherhood'); another depicts a trio of men at a bar, with one realizing his beer has been drunk by one of the others, the slogan reading "Kenner war's" (meaning "It was no one" [ Keiner war es ] in Saarlandish, but playing on
837-503: A week later with 9 HP11s . The Royal Air Force raided Saarbrücken's railway station with 5 DH9s on 31 July 1918, on which occasion one DH9 crashed near the town centre. Saarbrücken became capital of the Saar territory established in 1920. Under the Treaty of Versailles (1919), the Saar coal mines were made the exclusive property of France for a period of 15 years as compensation for
930-401: A wide range of independence, threatened, however, by the French kings , who sought from the 17th century onwards to incorporate all the territories on the western side of the river Rhine . They invaded the area in 1635, 1676, 1679, and 1734, extending their realm to the river Saar and establishing the city and stronghold of Saarlouis in 1680. It was not the king of France but the armies of
1023-469: A wooden bridge, later upgraded to stone, connected vicus Saravus with the south-western bank of the Saar, today's St Arnual, where at least one Roman villa was located. In the third century AD, a Mithras shrine was built in a cave in Halberg hill, on the eastern bank of the Saar river, next to today's old "Osthafen" harbor, and a small Roman camp was constructed at the foot of Halberg hill next to
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#17330860509791116-534: Is able to speak French, and it is compulsory at many schools. Saarbrücken is also home to a bilingual "Deutsch-Französisches Gymnasium " (German-French high school). In January 2014 the Saarland state government announced its aim of making the region fully bilingual in German and French by 2043. The Saar competed in the qualifying section of the 1954 FIFA World Cup , but failed after coming second to West Germany but ahead of Norway . It also competed as Saar in
1209-441: Is also the home of the main campus of Saarland University ( Universität des Saarlandes ). There are several research institutes and centres on or near the campus, including: The Saarland University also has a Centre Juridique Franco-Allemand , offering a French and a German law degree program. The Botanischer Garten der Universität des Saarlandes (a botanical garden ) was closed in 2016 due to budget cuts. The main campus of
1302-536: Is association football team based at the Ludwigsparkstadion , 1. FC Saarbrücken , which also has a reserve team and a women's section . In the past a top-flight team, twice the country's vice-champions,5-time DFB Pokal Semi-finalists and was a participant in UEFA Champions League , the club draws supporters from across the region . Lower league SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken is the other football team in
1395-509: Is by far the smallest of the Flächenländer ("area-states"). It is less than one sixth the size of Schleswig-Holstein , the next smallest German state. One third of the land area of the Saarland is covered by forest, one of the highest percentages in Germany. The state is generally hilly; the highest mountain is the Dollberg with a height of 695.4 m (2,281 ft). Most inhabitants live in
1488-525: Is connected by the city's public transport network to the town of Sarreguemines in France, and to the neighboring town of Völklingen , where the old steel works were the first industrial monument to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994 – the Völklinger Hütte . Saarbrücken has a population of about 180,000. In 1957, when Saar Protectorate and Saarbrücken transformed to Saarland and became
1581-653: Is home to the Saarland University and the administrative headquarters of the Franco-German University . People in the Saarland speak Rhine Franconian (in the southeast, very similar to that dialect spoken in the western part of the Palatinate) and Moselle Franconian (in the northwest, very similar to that dialect spoken along the river Moselle and the cities of Trier or even in Luxembourg). Outside of
1674-518: Is normally composed with the words dääd (High German täte = "would do") or gänge ("would go") as auxiliary verbs: Isch dääd saan, dass... ("I would say that...") instead of the High German Ich würde sagen, dass... . Declension is rather different: Diphthongs are less common than in Standard German. This is because the Standard German diphthongs ei and au are each
1767-523: Is the 2nd smallest German state capital after Schwerin . The current mayor of Saarbrücken is Uwe Comradt of the Christian 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 council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and
1860-518: Is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland , Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commercial and cultural centre. It is located on the Saar River (a tributary of the Moselle ), directly borders the French department of Moselle , and is Germany's second-westernmost state capital after Düsseldorf . The modern city of Saarbrücken was created in 1909 by
1953-599: Is the remains of a fortress of refuge at Otzenhausen in the north of the Saarland. In the 1st century BC, the Roman Empire made the region part of its province of Belgica , and the Celtic population mixed with the Roman conquerors. The region became wealthy, which can still be seen in the remains of Roman villas and villages. Roman rule ended in the 5th century, when the Franks conquered
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#17330860509792046-431: The 1952 Summer Olympics and the field handball world championships in the beginning of the 1950s. Saarbr%C3%BCcken Saarbrücken ( German: [zaːɐ̯ˈbʁʏkn̩] ; Rhenish Franconian : Sabrigge [zaːˈbʁɪɡə] ; French: Sarrebruck [saʁbʁyk] ; Luxembourgish : Saarbrécken [zaːˈbʀekən] ; Latin : Saravipons ; lit. ' Saar Bridges ' )
2139-581: The Celtic word sara ( streaming water ), and the Roman name of the river, Saravus . There are two hypotheses about the origin of the second part of the name Saar brücken . Most popular states that the historical name of the town, Sarabrucca , derived from the Celtic word briga ( hill , or rock , big stone ), which became Brocken (which means rock or boulder ) in High German . The castle of Sarabrucca
2232-621: The European Coal and Steel Community , which led to the termination of the International Authority for the Ruhr (whose purpose was to regulate Ruhr coal and steel production and distribution). However, the Treaty sidestepped the issue of the Saar protectorate: an attached protocol stated Germany and France agreed the Treaty would have no bearing on their views of the status of the Saar. In 1948,
2325-631: The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 were fired on the heights of Spichern during the Battle of Spicheren , south of Saarbrücken . The Saar region became part of the German Empire which came into existence on 18 January 1871, during the course of the war. In 1921, the Saargebiet was occupied by Britain and France under the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles . The occupied area included portions of
2418-620: The French Revolution who terminated the independence of the states in the region of the Saarland. After 1792 they conquered the region and made it part of the French Republic . While a strip in the west belonged to the Moselle department , the centre in 1798 became part of the Sarre department , and the east became part of the Mont-Tonnerre department . After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815,
2511-533: The Friedenskirche (Peace Church), which was finished in 1745, the Old City Hall (1750), the catholic St. John's Basilica (1754), and the famous Ludwigskirche (1775), Saarbrücken's landmark. In 1793, Saarbrücken was captured by French Revolutionary troops and in the treaties of Campo Formio and Lunéville , the county of Saarbrücken was ceded to France. After 1815 Saarbrücken became part of
2604-454: The Intendant from the 2017/18 season. Among the people holding the position of Intendant (General manager) were: Among the conductors were Siegfried Köhler and Laurent Wagner [ de ] . Saarland Saarland ( German: [ˈzaːʁ̞lant] , Luxembourgish: [ˈzaːlɑnt] ; French : Sarre [saʁ] ) is a state of Germany in
2697-697: The Lulustein memorial in Alt-Saarbrücken. On 4 August 1870 the French left Saarbrücken, driven away towards Metz in the Battle of Spicheren on 6 August 1870. Saarbrücken would remain the only German territory 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. During World War I , factories and railways in Saarbrücken were bombed by British forces. The Royal Naval Air Service raided Saarbrücken with 11 DH4s on 17 October 1917, and
2790-579: The Medal of Honor for their actions during the bombing run on 9 November 1944. On the ground, Saarbrücken was defended by the 347th Infantry Division commanded by Wolf-Günther Trierenberg in 1945. The US 70th Infantry Division was tasked with punching through the Siegfried Line and taking Saarbrücken. As the fortifications were unusually strong, it first had to take the Siegfried Line fortifications on
2883-533: The Mediomatrici settled in the Saarbrücken area. When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in the first century BC, the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire . From the first century AD to the fifth century, there was the Gallo-Roman settlement called vicus Saravus west of Saarbrücken's Halberg hill, on the roads from Metz to Worms and from Trier to Strasbourg . Since the first or second century AD,
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2976-705: The Prussian Rhine Province . The office of the mayor of Saarbrücken administered the urban municipalities Saarbrücken and St Johann, and the rural municipalities Malstatt , Burbach , Brebach , and Rußhütte . The coal and iron resources of the region were developed: in 1852, a railway connecting the Palatine Ludwig Railway with the French Eastern Railway was constructed, the Burbach ironworks started production in 1856, beginning in 1860
3069-537: The Simon mine, continued for days. After the German defenders of Stiring-Wendel fell back to Saarbrücken on 12 and 13 March 1945, the 70th Infantry Division still faced a strong segment of the Siegfried Line, which had been reinforced 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
3162-654: The Territory of the Saar Basin and from 1947 to 1956 as capital of the Saar Protectorate . In modern German, Saarbrücken literally translates to Saar bridges ( Brücken is the plural of Brücke ), 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, the Alte Brücke , by at least 500 years. The name Saar stems from
3255-558: The Volkshochschule building housing the exhibition and the adjoining Schlosskirche church; this attack did not cause any injuries. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). Some of the closest cities are Trier , Luxembourg , Nancy , Metz , Kaiserslautern , Karlsruhe and Mannheim . Saarbrücken
3348-688: The department of Moselle ( Grand Est ) in France to the west and south and the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany to the north and east; it also shares a small border about 8 kilometres (5 miles) long with the canton of Remich in Luxembourg to the northwest. Having long been a relatively small part of the long-contested territories along the Franco-German linguistic border, Saarland first gained specific economic and strategic importance in
3441-441: The post-alveolar fricative as in frisch 'fresh', causing High German minimal pairs such as Kirche 'church' and Kirsche 'cherry' to be pronounced in the same way. French has had a considerable influence on the vocabulary, although the pronunciation of imported French words is usually quite different from their originals. Popular examples include Trottwaa (from trottoir ), Fissääl (from ficelle ), and
3534-599: The "castellum Sarabrucca" (Saarbrücken castle) to the Bishops of Metz. The Bishops gave the area to the Counts of Saargau as a fief . By 1120, the county of Saarbrücken had been formed and a small settlement around the castle developed. In 1168, Emperor Barbarossa ordered the slighting of Saarbrücken because of a feud with Count Simon I. The damage cannot have been grave, as the castle continued to exist. In 1321/1322 Count Johann I of Saarbrücken-Commercy gave city status to
3627-613: The 274th Infantry Regiment captured the Spicheren Heights 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. A renewed attack on 3 March 1945, allowed units of the 70th Infantry Division to enter Stiring-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
3720-501: The French government established Saarland University under the auspices of the University of Nancy . It is the principal university in the state, the other being Saarland University of Applied Sciences [ de ] (HTW Saar). The Saarland was headed by a military governor from 30 August 1945: Gilbert Yves Edmond Grandval (1904–1981), who remained, on 1 January 1948, as High Commissioner , and from January 1952 – June 1955 as
3813-627: The French heights near Spicheren overlooking Saarbrücken. This Spichern-Stellung had been constructed in 1940 after the French had fallen back on the Maginot Line during the Phoney War . The 276th Infantry Regiment attacked Forbach 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. The 274th and 275th Infantry Regiments took Spicheren on 20 February 1945. When
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3906-533: The Gothic church of St. Arnual, the 18th-century Saarbrücken Castle , and the old part of the town, the Sankt Johanner Markt (Market of St. Johann). Saarbrücken has an international airport ( Flughafen Saarbrücken ) in the borough of Saarbrücken-Ensheim. The main campus of the University of the Saarland ( Universität des Saarlandes ) is located within the city forest of Saarbrücken-St. Johann, while
3999-399: The High German word Kenner 'connoisseur', translating to "It was a connoisseur"); a third shows an empty beer crate in outer space, the text reading "All" (meaning "empty" in Saarlandish, but playing on the same High German word meaning "outer space"). The French language has a special standing in Saarland due to its geographical proximity to France. Today, a part of the population
4092-503: The League of Nations' administration. In 1935, the Saar territory rejoined Germany and formed a district under the name Saarland. Saarbrücken was heavily bombed in World War II . In total 1,234 people (1.1 percent of the population) in Saarbrücken were killed in bombing raids from 1942 to 1945. 11,000 homes were destroyed and 75 percent of the city left in ruins. Today more than a third of
4185-659: The Prussian Rhine Province and the Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate . In practice the region was administered by France. In 1920, this was formalized by a 15-year mandate by the League of Nations . In 1933, a considerable number of communists and other political opponents of Nazism fled to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany that remained outside national administration following the First World War. As
4278-642: The RAF raided Saarbrücken three times, targeting the railway yard. The attacks with 158, 274, and 134 planes, respectively, were very effective. The 8th 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. Donald J. Gott and William E. Metzger, Jr. were posthumously awarded
4371-485: The Saar became part of the Federal Republic of Germany on 1 January 1957, the contract was signed at the theatre, with chancellor Konrad Adenauer and the prime minister of the Saar, Hubert Ney . In 1971, the state of Saarland took over as owner of the theatre, and the name was changed to Saarländisches Staatstheater . The building was declared a historic monument in 1983. Bodo Busse [ de ] has been
4464-506: 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. In 1945, Saarbrücken temporarily became part of the French Zone of Occupation . In 1947, France created the nominally politically independent Saar Protectorate and merged it economically with France to exploit the area's vast coal reserves. Saarbrücken became capital of
4557-495: The Saar up to Ensdorf was channeled, and Saarbrücken was connected to the French canal network . At the start of the Franco-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 Prince Napoléon Eugène Louis Bonaparte fired his first cannon in this battle, an event commemorated by
4650-823: The Saarland University also houses the office of the Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik computer science research and meeting centre. Furthermore, Saarbrücken houses the administration of the Franco-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: Saarbrücken also houses
4743-543: The Saarland in a half-hearted offensive, occupying some villages and meeting little resistance, before withdrawing. After 8 April 1940 Bürckel's title was changed again to Reichskommissar für die Saarpfalz (Reich Commissioner for the Saar Palatinate); finally, after 11 March 1941, Bürckel was made Reichsstatthalter in der Westmark (Reich Governor of the Western Borderland). He died on 28 September 1944 and
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#17330860509794836-444: The Saarland, either alone or in coalition , since the accession of the state to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957. After the 2022 state elections the previous Grand Coalition between the CDU and SPD, the two largest parties in the Landtag, was replaced by an SPD majority government, the only single-party majority government of any German state, led by minister-president Anke Rehlinger . The gross domestic product (GDP) of
4929-650: The Saarland, specifically the Rhine-Franconian variant spoken in the state capital Saarbrücken is generally considered to be the Saarland dialect. The two dialect regions are mainly separated by the das / dat isogloss; in the northwestern portion of the state, including cities such as Saarlouis, standard German das is pronounced with a final [t] instead of an [s] . In general, both dialects are an integral part of Saarland identity. Both dialects, particularly in their respective Saarland flavour, share many characteristic features, some of which will be explained below. Women and girls are often referred to using
5022-418: The U.S. position on detaching the Saar from Germany: "The United States does not feel that it can deny to France, which has been invaded three times by Germany in 70 years, its claim to the Saar territory". The Saar and Ruhr areas were historically a central location for coal mining. This attracted the steel industry, which is essential for the production of munitions. The Treaty of Paris (1951) established
5115-466: The administrative reform of 1974, the city had a population of more than 200,000. From 1990 to 1993, students and an arts professor from the town first secretly, then officially, created an 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 controversial Wehrmachtsausstellung exhibition next to Saarbrücken Castle, resulting in minor damage to
5208-456: 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 oldest secondary school , the Ludwigsgymnasium . During the Thirty Years' War , the population of Saarbrücken was reduced to just 70 by 1637, down from 4500 in 1628. During the Franco-Dutch War , King Louis XIV's troops burned down Saarbrücken in 1677, almost completely destroying
5301-568: The bombing scattered to the west of Saarbrücken due to ground haze. There were small raids with 28 Mosquitos on 30 April 1944, with 33 Mosquitos on 29 June 1944, and with just 2 Mosquitos on 26 July 1944. At the request of the American Third Army, the RAF massively raided Saarbrücken on 5 October 1944, to destroy supply lines, especially the railway. The 531 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos achieved these goals, but lost 3 Lancasters and destroyed large parts of Malstatt and nearly all of Alt-Saarbrücken. From 13 to 14 January,
5394-437: The city consists of buildings from before 1945. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) raided Saarbrücken at least 10 times. Often employing area 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, thus dehousing more than 50,000 people. The first major raid on Saarbrücken
5487-518: The city of Saarbrücken. It was opened on 9 October 1938, called Gautheater Saarpfalz, with a performance of Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer , in the presence of Hitler, Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler . The first Intendant was Bruno von Niessen [ de ] . Heinz Bongartz was GMD from 1937 and 1944. Destroyed in World War II, the theatre was restored, and opened again on 6 March 1948, now named Stadttheater Saarbrücken (Saarbrücken City Theatre), with Mozart's Die Zauberflöte . When
5580-399: The city such that just 8 houses remained standing. 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 of Prince William Henry from 1741 to 1768, the coal mines were nationalized and his policies created a proto-industrialized economy, laying
5673-399: The city. The Saarland Hurricanes are one of the top American football teams in the country, with its junior team winning the German Junior Bowl in 2013. Various sporting events are held at the Saarlandhalle , most notable of which was the badminton Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold , part of the BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix tournaments, held in 2013 and 2012 . Saarbrücken
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#17330860509795766-444: The destruction of French mines during the First World War . The treaty also provided for a plebiscite , 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
5859-407: The first of two French ambassadors, his successor being Éric de Carbonnel (1910–1965) until 1956. Saarland, however, was allowed a regional administration very early, consecutively headed by: In 1954, France and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) developed a detailed plan called the Saarstatut (Saar Statute) to establish an independent Saarland. It was signed as an agreement between
5952-473: The formerly Prussian part of Saarland) and Speyer (for the smaller eastern formerly Palatine part). 17.5% of the Saarlandic population adhere to the Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD), organised in the two Landeskirchen named Evangelical Church in the Rhineland and Evangelical Church of the Palatinate , both following the same former territorial partition. 25.7% are not affiliated with one of these churches. Saarland has
6045-407: The foundation for Saarland's later highly industrialized economy. Saarbrücken was booming, and Prince William Henry spent on building and on infrastructure like the Saarkran river crane (1761), far beyond his financial means. However, the famous baroque architect Friedrich Joachim Stengel created not only the Saarkran , but many iconic buildings that still shape Saarbrücken's face today, like
6138-442: The government, the Fachhochschule für Verwaltung des Saarlandes , was moved from Saarbrücken to Göttelborn in 2012. Saarbrücken houses several institutions of primary and secondary education. Notable is the Saarland's oldest grammar school , the Ludwigsgymnasium , which was founded in 1604 as a latin school . The building of Saarbrücken's bi-lingual French-German Deutsch-Französisches Gymnasium , founded in 1961 and operating as
6231-408: The highest concentration of Roman Catholics of any German state, and is the only state in which Catholics form an absolute majority (over 50%). Except for the periods between 1985 and 1999, as well as since 2022 – when the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has held a majority of seats in the Landtag (state diet) – the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has governed
6324-430: The imperative or greeting aalleh! (from allez! ). The English sentence "My house is green" is pronounced almost the same in the Rhine Franconian variant: Mei Haus is grien . The main difference lies in the pronunciation of the ⟨r⟩ sound. Regional beer brewer Karlsberg has taken advantage of the Saarlandish dialect to create clever advertising for its staple product, UrPils. Examples include
6417-399: The merger of the three cities of Saarbrücken (now called Alt-Saarbrücken ), St. Johann a. d. Saar , and Malstatt-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 the Saar (1546),
6510-438: The neuter pronoun es , with the pronunciation being something like Ähs : Ähs hat mir's gesaat ( ' it told me so', instead of ' she told me so'; vs. High German: Sie hat es mir gesagt ). This stems from the word Mädchen (girl) being neuter ( es is correct when referring to words like Mädchen but would not be used by itself in reference to a woman). The subjunctive in Rhine Franconian
6603-404: The new Saar state. A referendum in 1955 came out with over two-thirds of the voters rejecting an independent Saar state. The area rejoined the Federal Republic of Germany on 1 January 1957, sometimes called Kleine Wiedervereinigung (little reunification). Economic reintegration would, however, take many more years. Saarbrücken became capital of the Bundesland (federal state) Saarland. After
6696-490: The nineteenth century due to the wealth of its coal deposits and the heavy industrialization that grew as a result. Saarland was first established as a distinct political entity in 1920 after World War I as the Territory of the Saar Basin , which was occupied and governed by France under a League of Nations mandate . Saarland was returned to Nazi Germany in the 1935 Saar status referendum . Following World War II in Europe ,
6789-500: The north and the east. It is named after the river Saar , a tributary of the Moselle (itself a tributary of the Rhine ), which runs through the state from the south to the northwest. Saarland is about the same size as neighboring Luxembourg with Luxembourg being 2,586sq km (998 sq mi) and Saarland at 2,570sq km (990sq mi). Within Germany, it is slightly larger than the combined area of the three city-states (Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg) but
6882-501: The past, coal mining was an important branch of industry. However, the last coal mine in Saarland closed in 2012, ending 250 years of coal mining history in the region. The decision to close the mines was motivated by safety concerns about earthquakes in the region. The unemployment rate stood at 5.8% in October 2018 and was higher than the national average but below the EU28 average. Saarland
6975-535: The referendum Josef Bürckel was appointed on 1 March 1935 as the German Reich 's commissioner for reintegration ( Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes ). Once the reincorporation was accomplished, on 17 June 1936 his title was changed to Reichskommissar für das Saarland (Reich Commissioner for the Saarland). In September 1939, in response to the German invasion of Poland , French forces invaded
7068-692: The region was divided again. Most of it became part of the Prussian Rhine Province . Another part in the east, corresponding to the present Saarpfalz district, was allocated to the Kingdom of Bavaria . A small part in the northeast was ruled by the Duke of Oldenburg . On 31 July 1870, the French Emperor Napoleon III ordered an invasion across the River Saar to seize Saarbrücken. The first shots of
7161-487: The result of a merger of two Middle High German vowels – however, these mergers did not take place in the Saarland, and only one of the two merged vowels is pronounced as a diphthong. The front rounded vowels ö , ü , and eu are replaced by e , i , and ei respectively. Both the Rhine Franconian and Moselle Franconian dialects (and Luxembourgish ) have merged the palatal fricative sound as in ich with
7254-559: The results were as follows: The city is served by Saarbrücken Airport (SCN), and since June 2007 ICE high speed train services along the LGV Est line provide high speed connections to Paris from Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof . Saarbrücken's Saarbahn (modelled on the Karlsruhe model light rail ) crosses the French–German border, connecting to the French city of Sarreguemines . Saarbrücken
7347-505: The river. Toward the end of the fourth century, the Alemanni destroyed the castra and vicus Saravus , removing permanent human presence from the Saarbrücken area for almost a century. The Saar area came under the control of the Franks towards the end of the fifth century. In the sixth century, the Merovingians gave the village Merkingen , which had formed on the ruins of the villa on
7440-408: 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 from serfdom . From 1381 to 1793 the counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken were the main local rulers. In 1549, Emperor Charles V prompted the construction of the Alte Brücke (old bridge) connecting Saarbrücken and St Johann. At
7533-519: The south-western end of the (in those times still usable) Roman bridge, to the Bishopric of Metz . Between 601 and 609, Bishop Arnual founded a community of clerics, a Stift , there. Centuries later the Stift , and in 1046 Merkingen , took on his name, giving birth to St Arnual . The oldest documentary reference to Saarbrücken is a deed of donation from 999, which documents that Emperor Otto III gave
7626-411: The southwest of the country. With an area of 2,570 km (990 sq mi) and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin , Bremen , and Hamburg , and the smallest in population apart from Bremen. Saarbrücken is the state capital and largest city; other cities include Neunkirchen and Saarlouis . Saarland is mainly surrounded by
7719-601: The state was €35.4 billion in 2018, accounting for 1.1% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €32,800 or 109% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 93% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the second lowest of all states in West Germany. Important income sources are the automobile industry, steel industry, ceramic industry and computer science and information systems industry. In
7812-464: The territory was occupied by France then became the Saar Protectorate on 17 December 1947. After the 1955 Saar Statute referendum , it joined the Federal Republic of Germany as a state on 1 January 1957. Saarland used its own currency, the Saar franc , and postage stamps issued specially for the territory until 1959. The region of the Saarland was settled by the Celtic tribes of Treveri and Mediomatrici . The most impressive relic of their time
7905-645: The territory. For the next 1,300 years the region shared the history of the Kingdom of the Franks , the Carolingian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire . The region of the Saarland was divided into several small territories, some of which were ruled by sovereigns of adjoining regions. Most important of the local rulers were the counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken . Within the Holy Roman Empire these territories gained
7998-537: The two countries on 23 October 1954 as one of the Paris Pacts , but a plebiscite held on 23 October 1955 rejected it by 67.7%. On 27 October 1956, the Saar Treaty declared that Saarland should be allowed to join West Germany, which it did on 1 January 1957. This was the last significant international border change in Europe until the fall of Communism over 30 years later. The Saarland's unification with West Germany
8091-609: The university hospital ( Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes ) can be found in Homburg . 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
8184-521: Was located on a large rock by the name of Saarbrocken overlooking the river Saar. Another opinion holds that the historical name of the town, Sarabrucca , derived from the Old High German word Brucca (in German) , meaning bridge , or more precisely a corduroy road , which was also used in fords. Next to the castle, there was a ford allowing land-traffic to cross the Saar. In the last centuries BC,
8277-555: Was no venue for theatre. In 1897, the Saalbau was built as a concert hall. A municipal theatre was built by Hans Peter Weszkalnys and opened on 18 February 1897 with the opera Mignon by Ambroise Thomas. From 1899, it was called Thalia-Theater . In 1906, plans for a better building began. The main venue of today's Saarländisches Staatstheater was built in 1937 and 1938, commissioned by Joseph Goebbels and designed by Paul Baumgarten [ de ] . The funding came mostly from
8370-571: Was sometimes referred to as the Kleine Wiedervereinigung ('little reunification', in contrast with the post-Cold War reunification with the GDR ). After unification, the Saar franc remained as the territory's currency until West Germany's Deutsche Mark replaced it on 7 July 1959. The Saar Treaty established that French, not English as in the rest of West Germany, should remain the first foreign language taught in Saarland schools; this provision
8463-422: Was still largely followed after it was no longer binding. Since 1971, Saarland has been a member of SaarLorLux , a euroregion created from Saarland, Lorraine , Luxembourg , Rhineland Palatinate , and Wallonia . The state borders France (department of Moselle , which forms part of the region of Grand Est ) to the south and west, Luxembourg ( Grevenmacher District ) to the west and Rhineland-Palatinate to
8556-679: Was succeeded by Willi Stöhr , who remained in office until the region fell to advancing American forces in March 1945. After World War II , the Saarland came under French occupation again and became the Saar Protectorate . France did not annex the Saar or expel the local German population, in contrast to the fate of the territories which were merged by Poland and the USSR. In his speech " Restatement of Policy on Germany ", made in Stuttgart on 6 September 1946, United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes stated
8649-550: 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. On 28 August 1942, 113 RAF planes raided Saarbrücken doing comparatively little damage due to widely scattered bombing. After the RAF mistakenly bombed Saarlouis instead of Saarbrücken on 1 September 1942, it raided Saarbrücken with 118 planes on 19 September 1942, causing comparatively little damage as
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