The Saar (; ) is a river in northeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and western

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and a right tributary of the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

. It rises in the

Vosges mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

on the border of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

and flows northwards into the Moselle near

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

. It has two headstreams (the ''Sarre Rouge'' and ''Sarre Blanche'', which join in Lorquin), that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak of the northern Vosges. After (129 kilometres; 80 miles in France and on the French-German border, and 117 kilometres; 73 miles in Germany) the Saar flows into the Moselle at Konz (

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

) between Trier and the Luxembourg border. It has a

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of .

The Saar flows through the following

departments of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...

states of Germany The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign ''states''. Of the sixteen states, thirteen are so-called area-states ('Flächenländer'); in these, below the level of the state government, there is a ...

and towns: *

(F): Abreschviller (Sarre Rouge), Lorquin,

Sarrebourg Sarrebourg (; also , ; Lorraine Franconian: ; older ) is a commune of northeastern France. In 1895 a Mithraeum was discovered at Sarrebourg at the mouth of the pass leading from the Vosges Mountains. Geography Sarrebourg is located in the ...

, Fénétrange *

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

(F): Sarre-Union *

(F): Sarralbe, Sarreguemines *

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest 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, and the smallest in ...

(D):

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

, Völklingen,

Wadgassen Wadgassen is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 6 km southeast of Saarlouis, and 15 km west of Saarbrücken. Religion Between 1135 and 1792 the Premonstratensia ...

, Bous,

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; , ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis (district), Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis is located on the river Saar (river), Saar. ...

, Dillingen, Merzig *

(D): Saarburg, Konz. Aerial image of the confluence of the Saar and Moselle

On the banks of the Saar is the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Völklinger Hütte. At Mettlach the Saar passes the well-known Saar loop. The lower Saar in Rhineland-Palatinate is a winegrowing region of some importance, producing mostly

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

. Until the early 20th century, much more wine was grown on the banks of the Saar, reaching much further up from the mouth of the river, up to Saarbrücken. Only in the early 21st century have some enterprising farmers from the Saarland area started experimenting with winegrowing again. The name Saar stems from the Celtic word sara (streaming water), and the Roman name of the river, saravus.

Tributaries

Tributaries of the Saar are, from source to mouth: * Sarre Blanche (left) * Sarre Rouge (right) * Bièvre (right) * Isch (right) * Albe (left) * Eichel (right) * Blies (right) *

Rohrbach Rohrbach or Röhrbach may refer to: Places Municipalities in Switzerland *Rohrbach, Switzerland, in the canton of Bern Municipalities in Germany *Rohrbach, Bavaria, in the district of Pfaffenhofen, Bavaria *Rohrbach, Birkenfeld, in the district o ...

(right) * Köllerbach (right) * Rossel (left) * Bist (left) * Ellbach (right) * Prims (right) * Nied (left) * Leukbach (left)

Navigation

In 2001, the lowermost section from the confluence of Saar and Moselle at Konz up to the city of Saarbrücken was upgraded for navigation with Class Vb ships. Since then, goods can be transported in northbound direction, for instance, to the sea port of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. In its middle section, the Saar had been made navigable in 1866 and was used for the transport of coal (upstream) and of iron ore (downstream) in southbound direction. The section between Saarbrücken and Sarreguemines is navigable for smaller Class I ships.Längen der Hauptschifffahrtswege der Binnenwasserstraßen des Bundes, Liste 4
Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur (

Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure The Federal Ministry for Transport (, ; abbreviated BMV) is a German Cabinet, cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is located in Berlin, while the majority of its civil servants and employees work in Bonn, ...

) At Sarreguemines the Canal de la Sarre (also navigable for Class I ships) connects the Saar since 1866 with the Marne–Rhine Canal at Gondrexange.Fluviacarte
Canal de la Sarre

References

{{Authority control Rivers of France Rivers of Saarland Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate Federal waterways in Germany Rivers of Grand Est Rivers of Moselle (department) Rivers of Bas-Rhin Rivers of Germany France–Germany border International rivers of Europe Border rivers