Saarland

Basic data:

Universities:

Saarbrücken: Saarland University

Geography:

The Saarland extends over parts of the Hunsrück with the Black Forest high forest, the Lorraine strata and the Saar-Nahe mountains, and is located in the south-west of Germany. Furthermore, the foothills of the Palatinate Forest penetrate far into the Saarland. The Bliesgau and the Saargau with their fertile limestone soils are other important areas of the state.

At 695 m, the Dollberg is the highest elevation, the second highest is the Schimmelkopf at 694.8 m. The Schaumberg, however, is the most important elevation, this is probably traditionally the local mountain of the Saarland, because it was the highest mountain in the Saar region at that time . Although the Schaumberg is relatively low at 569 m, it juts out of a rather flat environment and has a large lookout tower. This makes it easy to see in the landscape even from a great distance.

About a third of the area of ​​Saarland is covered with mixed forest, and deciduous forest accounts for the largest proportion of the total forest area compared to all other federal states. The longest river is the Saar, other important rivers are the Moselle, Nahe, Blies, Prims and Nied.

Climate:

The Saarland is characterized by a moderate oceanic climate and is one of the warmest regions in Germany. The average annual precipitation is 800 mm, the lowest is 710 mm in the lower Niedtal and the highest is 1,100 mm in the Black Forest high forest.

The annual mean temperature is 9 °C. From June to August it is average Warmest at 16.9°C and coldest from December to February with an average of 0.8°C.

history:

Evidence of human settlement in today\'s Saarland goes back to the Palaeolithic Age. In the last pre-Christian centuries the Celtic tribes of the Mediomatricians and the Treverians lived in this area. After the Roman conquest in the 1st century B.C. Numerous small Gallo-Roman country towns and rural villas arose. A fort with a bridge existed in Saarbrücken between Halberg and Sankt Arnual.

During the migration of peoples, Roman rule collapsed and the Franks assimilated the Gallo-Roman population. Although there had already been a Christianization of the entire region in Roman times, the newly immigrated Germanic population groups were only Christianized by a second wave of missions by British and Iro-Scottish monks. After that, the country belonged ecclesiastically to the diocese of Metz and the archdiocese of Trier. In 925 the country on the Saar became part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Numerous independent small territories emerged, the most important being the County of Saarbrücken, which, however, was never able to achieve central importance or significantly expand its territory.

From the 17th century, French influence on the Saarland dominions grew, but the areas never fell permanently under the rule of Bourbon France. Neighboring dominions ruled in significant parts of what is now Saarland. In 1680 the area was first annexed to France, which combined the small territories into a Saar province. This condition only lasted until 1697, when France had to give up the territories on the Saar again.

Today\'s Saarland experienced the first wave of early industrialization in the 18th century.Century by the nationalization of the coal mines and the first settlement of metallurgical plants. In the course of the French Revolution, the princes were expelled in 1793, the entire left bank of the Rhine was annexed to France for the second time, and in 1798 a Saar department was established

After the Congress of Vienna, most of the Saar area went to the Kingdoms of Prussia and Bavaria and to some smaller states of the German Confederation. The achievements of the French Revolution were preserved as Rhenish law. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 and the Battle of Spichern, the founding of the German Empire and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine resulted in the formation of a common economic area up to the French border. The center of the third-largest heavy industrial area in the German Reich developed on the Saar.

The defeat of the Imperial German Empire in World War I meant that the newly created and now for the first time so-called Saar area was separated from the German Empire in accordance with the Versailles Treaty. In 1920, the Saar region was placed under French administration for 15 years, with the demarcation based on where the miners who worked in the region\'s coal mines lived. At that time, southern Hunsrück and northern Saargau did not yet belong to the Saar region. Economically, this was dependent on France, and the currency was French. Among other things, the occupation of the Saar region by French colonial troops and the contractual exploitation of the Saarland coal and steel region increased the desire to return to the German Reich.

With the seizure of power by the Nazis, the politics of the left-wing parties in the Saar region changed, and the \"status quo\" was now propagated. At the same time, the NSDAP and most of the bourgeois parties had joined forces in the Nazi-dominated German Front. While the policy of maintaining the \"status quo\" was supported by many internationally renowned personalities, it was doomed to fail because of the prevailing nationalism. In the referendum on January 13, 1935, 90.73% of the voters voted for a union with Germany, 8.86% for a \"status quo\" and only 0.4% of the voters for a union of the Saar region with France.

From March 1st, 1935, the Saar area once again belonged completely to the German Reich and remained as a political unit under the new name \"Saarland\". In the party organization of the NSDAP, however, the Saarland together with the Bavarian Palatinate formed the Gau \"Saar-Palatinate\". It was initially administered by a Reich Commissioner, then by a Reich Governor in Saarbrücken.

After the end of the war, France initially wanted to split off the entire area on the left bank of the Rhine from Germany, but this was rejected at the Allied foreign ministers\' conference. In order not to anger the French, however, the Americans gave their consent for the Saarland to be separated. On February 16, 1946, Saarland was removed from the jurisdiction of the Allied Control Council, and from July 20, the territory of the state was significantly expanded. At the end of the year, a customs border with the rest of Germany was established. Shortly thereafter, the country became a French protectorate with its own government and constitution, providing for economic union with France. Although this was economically positive for the population, a possible political union with France was still largely rejected.

On June 8th, 1947, 61 communities were spun off from the Saarland, at the same time 13 communities in the districts of Birkenfeld and Kusel were incorporated into the Saarland. In 1949, the border was corrected for the last time by connecting the former Palatinate community of Kirrberg.The Saar currency \"Saarmark\" was introduced on July 16, 1947, which had the background to prepare the introduction of the French franc planned in the second step. On November 15, 1947, the French franc was introduced as the official means of payment (which was later replaced by the Saar franc), on March 23, 1948 the customs union was officially confirmed. All Saarlanders also received their own citizenship, and the government installed by France ensured that denazification was carried out more sustainably in Saarland than in other parts of Germany.

In the 1950s, after initial approval by the population, resentment against the government increased, and parties opposed to statehood were not permitted. The fundamental right to freedom of expression was also restricted. Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer refused any contact with the Hoffmann government, and in 1952 the banned pro-German parties unsuccessfully called for a boycott of the state elections. Now Konrad Adenauer also changed his Saarland policy and contacted the Saar government. This led to the signing of the Saar status on October 23, 1954 in Paris as part of the Paris Agreement. Because of the status of the Saar, Konrad Adenauer was sharply attacked in German domestic politics, the SPD and the FDP saw this as a practical cession of the Saarland to France.

On October 23, 1955, after a fierce election campaign, a referendum was held on the future of the Saarland, in which 67.7% of the Saarlanders decided against the Saar status. The Prime Minister of the Saarland, Johannes Hoffmann, wanted to make the Saarland the first European territory; planning had already begun for entire districts in and around Saarbrücken, some of which are still unused today. Those involved interpreted the result of the vote as the wish of the Saarlanders to want to join the Federal Republic of Germany. On October 27th, 1956 the Saar Treaty was concluded in Luxembourg and on January 1st, 1957 the area became the 10th state (without Berlin) to become part of the Federal Republic of Germany. For the time being, there was still a partial economic dependency on France, since the Saarland continued to belong to the French customs area until July 6th, 1959. After that, the DM was introduced in Saarland and the customs barriers to Rhineland-Palatinate were abolished.

From 1955 to 1980, the CDU was the strongest party and provided Prime Ministers Ney (1956/57), Reinert (1957 to 1959), Röder (1959 to 1979) and Zeyer (1979 to 1985). From 1980 to 1999 it was the SPD (since 1985 with an absolute majority) with Prime Ministers Oskar Lafontaine (1985 to 1998) and Reinhard Klimmt (1998/99). After the state elections of September 5th, 1999, the CDU took over government responsibility again under Prime Minister Peter Müller (with an absolute majority, in the elections on September 5th, 1999). 09/05/2004 confirmed).

Economy:

Saarland has been a heavily industrialized federal state since the 19th century, based on hard coal mining in Saarland and the import of iron ore from Lorraine. Coal production peaked at 17.2 million tons in 1955, and production has declined since then. Due to mining, refinement companies and companies in the mining industry settled here.

In the past, mainly iron and steel processing companies were located, today the Saarland is an industrial region with a diverse branch structure. Chemicals, machines, glass and ceramics are also manufactured in this way. Agriculture plays a subordinate role. Cereals and potatoes are mainly cultivated on approx. 27% of the Saarland area. The number of people employed in the service sector has increased in recent years, more than 56% of those employed work in this economic sector.The information and communication sector as well as production-oriented services are very popular.

Tourism is also becoming increasingly important in Saarland, Saarbrücken is a trade fair and congress city. Nonnweiler and Weiskirchen are health resorts with a healthy climate, Blieskastel is a Kneipp spa. The Saarland also has a well-developed transport infrastructure and the highest motorway density of all German federal states. The most important port is Saarbrücken, the Saar is connected to the French canal network.