Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of 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, a ...

, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on the river

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

. It was built as a fortress in 1680 and was named after

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

History

With the Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen in 1678/79, Lorraine fell to France. In 1680,

gave orders to build a fortification (to defend the new French eastern frontier) on the banks of the river Saar which was called ''Sarre-Louis''. Notable French military engineer,

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban, later Marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May 163330 March 1707), commonly referred to as ''Vauban'' (), was a French military engineer who worked under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the ...

, constructed the town, which would serve as the capital of the Province de la Sarre. The plans were made by Thomas de Choisy, the town's first Gouvenour. In 1683, Louis XIV visited the fortress and granted arms. The coat of arms shows the rising sun and three Fleur-de-lis. The heraldic motto is ''Dissipat Atque Fovet'': He (the Sun) dispels (the clouds) and heats (the earth). In 1697, the Treaty of Ryswick made most parts of Lorraine independent again, but Saarlouis and the surrounding areas remained a French

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, the town was renamed Sarre-Libre, but it returned to its original name in 1810. With the Treaty of Paris in 1815, Saarlouis (and the whole region later known as the

Saargebiet The Territory of the Saar Basin (german: Saarbeckengebiet, ; french: Territoire du bassin de la Sarre) was a region of Germany occupied and governed by the United Kingdom and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate. It had i ...

) became Prussian.

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Michel Ney, who was born in Saarlouis, was arrested and tried for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

after the failure of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, but he ...

. Ney's attorney tried to use the Prussian annexation to save his client's life, arguing that Ney was no longer a French citizen and therefore exempt from the court's jurisdiction. Ney refused to cooperate, declaring himself to be French, and so was convicted and later executed. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, French troops occupied Saarlouis. The Saargebiet became a protectorate of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

for 15 years. In 1933, a considerable number of anti-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

fled to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany left outside the Third Reich's control. As a result, anti-Nazi groups campaigned heavily for the Saarland to remain under control of

as long as

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

ruled Germany. However, long-held sentiments against France remained entrenched, and very few sympathized openly with France. When the 15-year-term was over, a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

was held in the territory on 13 January 1935: 90.3% of those voting wished to rejoin Germany. From 1936 till 1945, Saarlouis was named as Saarlautern (''-lautern'' being a common ending of town and village names in Germany) in an attempt by the Nazis to Germanise the town name. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the region (then called the

), was again occupied by France. In a plebiscite in 1955, most of the people in the Saarland opted for the reunification with the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

, and on 1 January 1957, it became the 10th federal state of West Germany. In 1980, Saarlouis celebrated its 300th anniversary.

Incorporated districts

Over time, the following districts have been incorporated into Saarlouis: * Beaumarais (1936) *

Fraulautern Fraulautern is a district of Saarlouis in the Saarland region of Germany. In 1936, the village of Fraulautern was incorporated into the city of Saarlouis. It is also the source of the alternative name for Saarlouis, ''Saarlautern''. Fraulautern has ...

(1936) * Lisdorf (1936) * Neuforweiler (1970) * Picard (1936) * Roden (1907) * Steinrausch (1972)

Fortifications

Even today, the

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

dominates the town's hexagonal floor plan. Beside the buildings made by ''Vauban'', there are also some constructions left from the 19th century when the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

ns got control over the town. After 1887, some parts of the fortress were

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

, but many buildings and places, e.g. the casemates, some

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

and the ''Great Market'' with the Commander's Office and the ''Vauban island'', a former ravelin with a memorial for Michel Ney can still be seen today.

Economy and infrastructure

Saarlouis was famous for its nearby steel and iron ore production and its nearby mining facilities. Today, the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

's Saarlouis Body & Assembly is the town's largest employer, producing the Ford Focus. The plant in the Roederberg suburb opened in 1970, but in 2022 is threatened with closure when the Ford Focus production cycle runs out in 2025. The industrial port in Saarlouis-Roden is Germany's 13th largest inland port. Saarlouis is also a manufacturer of chocolate.

Politics

Saarlouis is part of the

Saarlouis (electoral district) Saarlouis is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 297. It is located ...

in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...

, represented by

Peter Altmaier Peter Altmaier (born 18 June 1958) is a German lawyer and CDU politician who served as Acting Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2018 and as Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Federal Mi ...

Transport

Saarlouis has a station on the

Saar railway The Saarbrücken–Trier railway, known in German as the ''Saarstrecke'' (literally the "Saar line") in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It connects Saarbrücken and Trier. It was opened in 1858 and 1860 and is one ...

that provides hourly connections to Saarbrücken and Trier. It is connected to Saarbrücken by the A 620 and with

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

by the A 8.

Twin towns – sister cities

Saarlouis is twinned with: *

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocea ...

, France (1969) * Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany (1986; the first West and East German town twinning) * Matiguás, Nicaragua (1986)

Notable people

* Michel Ney (1769–1815),

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

* Heinrich Marx (1777–1838), lawyer and father of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

* Martin de Bervanger (1795–1865), priest *

Charles-Nicolas Peaucellier Charles-Nicolas Peaucellier (16 June 1832 – 4 October 1919) was a French engineer who graduated from the ''École polytechnique''. He made a career in the French army and was promoted to ''général de division'' in 1888. He is best known ...

(1832–1913), general and inventor of the Peaucellier–Lipkin linkage *

Eduard von Knorr Ernst Wilhelm Eduard von Knorr (8 March 1840 – 17 February 1920) was a German admiral of the Kaiserliche Marine who helped establish the German colonial empire. Life Born in Saarlouis, Rhenish Prussia, Knorr entered the Prussian Navy in ...

(1840–1920), admiral of the Imperial German Navy and chief of the

East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the F ...

s * Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870–1964), colonial general and politician * Esther Béjarano (1924–2021), survivor of the Women's Orchestra of Auschwitz *

Oskar Lafontaine Oskar Lafontaine (; born 16 September 1943) is a German politician. He served as Minister-President of the state of Saarland from 1985 to 1998, and was federal leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) from 1995 to 1999. He was the lead candid ...

(born 1943), politician (SPD, The Left) *

Rainer Rupp Rainer Rupp (born September 21, 1945 in Saarlouis, Germany) is a former top spy who worked under the codenames Mosel and later Topaz for the East German intelligence service HVA (General Reconnaissance Administration) in the NATO headquarters ...

(born 1945), spy * Gabriel Clemens (born 1983), darts player * Ralf Altmeyer (born 1966), virologist * Heiko Maas (born 1966), politician (SPD)

Gallery

Saarlouis01.jpg, The ''Deutsches Tor'' (German Gate) Saarlouis02.jpg, The ''Kasematten'' (The Casemates) Saarlouis03.jpg, The Commander's Office and the ''Großer Markt'' (Great Market) Saarlouis05.jpg, The ''Vauban Island'' and the memorial of Michel Ney RathausSaarlouis.jpg, The town hall Saarlouis04.jpg, The ''Kaserne No. VI'' (Barracks No. VI, now home of a museum and a public library) Saarlouisfußizone.jpg, The ''Französische Straße'' (French Street), now a pedestrian zone Marschall_ney_geburtshaus_saarlouis.jpg, Birthplace of Michel Ney, now a French Restaurant SaarlouisEvangelischeKirche.jpg, The Protestant church SaarlouisMittelpunkt.jpg, The geographic centre

References

External links

*
Fire Brigade of Saarlouis
(Saarlouis has one of the oldest

Volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respon ...

s of Germany)
History of Saarlouis 1 and Saarlouis 2 (renamed to Saarlautern) 1936–1945History of one of the most famous companies in Saarlouis: Donnerbräu
{{Authority control Towns in Saarland Saarlouis (district) Populated places established in 1680 Vauban fortifications Three Bishoprics