In terms of surface Saarland is the smallest and in terms of population the second-smallest federal state. Nevertheless its history is quite full of incidents. Saarland is as much French as it is German, has wonderful sceneries, beer, wine and an excellent kitchen and lot of legends.

As one of those famous legends goes, Rictius Varus, Roman town holder in Trier and known as enemy of Christians, had done a deal with the devil: while Varus drove his six horses up the Schaumberg, the devil was supposed to pave the way in front of him by tearing away the plaster stones behind and use them to pave the way in front of him. Varus lost this bet and was banished by the devil at the instance. As the legend goes, the shaft of the golden-decorated carriage is buried just beneath surface and until this day the headless horse haunts the Varus woods.

Saarland did not always belonged to Germany. The so-called Saar area originated after World War I in the 20s when it was diverged from the German empire and subordinated to the mandate of the League of Nations for the next 15 years. After World War II it was occupied by the French and in 1947 it got partially autonomous while economically assigned to France. In 1955 Saarland joined by plebiscite the German Federal Republic. In 1959 it also economically integrated to Germany.

Until the 1960s main income of the population came from mining and the attached steel industry.  The draw-back of the mining industry was accompanied by structural change. Nevertheless, new jobs were created by the automobile industry and since 1995 due to investments in renewable energies too. Saarland’s last coal mining company "mine Saar" was closed down as late as 2012.

Marvellous accommodations, beautiful scenery, many historical places of Roman and Hun times are as attractive for visitors as is its closeness to France, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Important towns in Saarland are Saarbrucken (around 183,000 inhabitants), Neunkirchen (around 50,000 inhabitants) and Homburg (around 45,000 inhabitants).

More information: http://www.visitsaarland.co.uk/en/index

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