Hotel Meran

Saarbrücken is changing

by Nemorino

At several places in the city center you can find these posters entitled Saarbrücken im Wandel meaning Saarbrücken is changing, with black and white photos of how things used to be, and color photos for the present.

I take this to be an admission on the part of the city government that Saarbrücken as it was re-built after the war was not a very attractive place, and still isn't because mistakes that are made of concrete take a long time to correct. But they are making progress, without a doubt. In the first photo, a mediocre building is getting a face-lift right across the street.

The text of the poster says: "The face of our city is constantly changing. It is worthwhile to be on the lookout for everything that is happening in Saarbrücken -- the city on the river and in a state of flux." (That last part is a clever pun in German, because the same word can mean "river" and "a state of flux", but it sounds quite lame in my translation.)

Second, third and fourth photos: After the war they even sacrificed long stretches of the river bank to build a freeway for automobiles. Various proposals have been made to correct this, but whatever they do it's bound to be expensive, so for the time being the noise and pollution just goes on and on. and the people are still deprived of access to the river bank.

Basilica St. Johann

by antistar

Another part of Stengel's architectural legacy to Saarbrucken is the Basilica St. Johann. Again built in the Baroque style, but not quite as striking as Ludwigskirche due to its cramped location and smaller mass. Unlike Ludwigskirche, the Basilica is, of course, Catholic, and it's Baroque design is perfectly fitting.

Saarbrucken, DE

by dromosapien

"Saarbrücken / Saarbrucken / Saarbruecken"

Alte Brucke

- old bridge

constructed: 1546
builder: Charles V (1500-1558)
obstacle: Saar river

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* Saarbrucken / Saarbruecken

population: 176,000 A former mining and industrial center and the capital of Saarland.

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"Saarkran"

- harbor crane

constructed: 1761-1763
architect: Friedrich Joachim Michael Stengel (1694-1787)
reconstructed: 1991
location: Saar river

"Ludwigskirche"

- church

constructed: 1762-1775
architect: Friedrich Joachim Michael Stengel (1694-1787)
location: Ludwigsplatz

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by dromosapien

"dromosapien"

Rathaus

- city hall

constructed: 1897-1900
architect: Georg J. von Hauberrisser (1841-1922)
height: 54 meters / 177 feet
location: Rathausplatz 1

"Altes Rathaus"

- old city hall

constructed: 1748-50
architect: Friedrich Joachim Michael Stengel (1694-1787)
current use: adult school
location: Schlossplatz

"Bergwerksdirektion"

- mining office of the Royal Prussian Mining Bureau

constructed: 1880
architects: Martin Gropius (1824-1880) and Heino Schmieden (1835-1913)
current use: Europa Galerie, shopping center
location: Triererstrasse 1

"Marktbrunnen"

- market square fountain

constructed: 1759
architect: Friedrich Joachim Michael Stengel (1694-1787)
location: St. Johanner Markt

"Schloss"

- castle palace

constructed: 1738-1748
architect: Friedrich Joachim Michael Stengel (1694-1787)
reconstructed: 1812, replaced the castle destroyed in 1793 during the French revolution
architect: Hugo Dihm den Auftrag
builder: Prince Wilhelm Heinrich
reconstructed: 1947, 1982-1989
architect: Gottfried Böhm (1920-)
current use: museum
location: Schlossplatz

"Staatstheater"

- theater, a.k.a. Gautheater Saarpfalz or Grenzlandtheater

constructed: 1937-1938
architect: Paul Otto August Baumgarten (1873-1946)
location: Schillerplatz 1

"Hauptbahnhof"

- train station a.k.a. Eurobahnhof

constructed: 2006-2007