Hotel Crystal

Daytrip: Neunkirchen

by Urzu

If you are around the Saarbrücken area a nice day trip might be to Neunkirchen (nine churches). From the name of the city you can well imagine that there are plenty little churches that you can visit. However Neunkirchen is also a very young and active town, there's usually plenty of people just having a walk, or shopping. What I also found very interesting is that they have transformed former factories (this was a very industrial area) into bars/discos and even cinemas. Definitely a nice place to see if you have a few hours to walk around. It's about 30 minutes away from Saarbrücken with the train or car.

St. Johanner Markt

by Urzu

This is the main square in Saabrücken. It's always lively (especially with nice weather!), full on nice Cafès and terraces to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee... or a Pils! The market is also surrounded by lovely little streets that you can walk around, and of course there is plenty of shops there! The baroque fountain the in center of the market was built by arquitect Stengel in the mid 18th century. Also this is the main place for the Christmas market... and who doesn't enjoy a German Christmas market??

Saarbrucken

by antistar

Saarland 0 Norway 0

On November 8th, 1953, the short lived country of Saarland saw the first World Cup qualifying game played in its capital, Saarbrucken. The following year it would play its last, losing 3-1 to West Germany. Its brief status as a European country has now long been forgotten, as has its return to the German fold, now known as the kleine Wiedervereinigung (little reunification).

The Smallest State

Saarbrucken is now the capital of one of Germany's smallest, and often overlooked, states. It would be the smallest if it wasn't for the existence of the city states of Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen. With its lack of stature, and being famed only for its industrial heritage, the state and the capital are far under most tourist's radar.

But it's a nice enough city. It has its rough edges, but it has some pleasant streets to wander, and a few sights worth seeing, and the city is small enough to make them all easily accessible in a short day trip. I wouldn't recommend making a special trip just to see the city, but if you are in the region then it's worth a visit.

Trading Places

It also has an interesting history, having changed hands so many times, not only recently, but since Roman times when it formed part of their region of Belgica. France has repeatedly tried to stake a claim, and the French influences in the city are clear, but in the end the people feel German and voted German each time they were presented with an opportunity to join France or even be independent.