The region of the Saarland was settled by theCeltictribes ofTreveriandMediomatrici. The most impressive relic of their time is the remains of a fortress of refuge atOtzenhausenin the north of the Saarland. In the 1st century BC, theRoman Empiremade the region part of its province ofBelgica. The Celtic population mixed with the Roman immigrants. The region gained wealth, which can still be seen in the remains of Roman villas and villages.
Roman rule ended in the 5th century, when theFranksconquered the territory. For the next 1,300 years the region shared the history of theKingdom of the Franks, theCarolingian Empireand of theHoly Roman Empire. The region of the Saarland was divided into several small territories, some of which were ruled by sovereigns of adjoining regions. Most important of the local rulers were thecounts of Nassau-Saarbrücken. Within the Holy Roman Empire these territories gained a wide range of independence, threatened, however, by the French kings, who sought, from the 17th century onwards, to incorporate all the territories on the western side of the river Rhine and repeatedly invaded the area in 1635, in 1676, in 1679, and in 1734, extending their realm to the river Saar and establishing the city and stronghold of Saarlouis in 1680.
It was not the king of France but the armies of theFrench Revolutionwho terminated the independence of the states in the region of the Saarland. After 1792 they conquered the region and made it part of theFrench Republic. While a strip in the west belonged to the DépartementMoselle, the centre in 1798 became part of theDépartement de Sarre, and the east became part of theDépartement du Mont-Tonnerre. After the defeat ofNapoleonin 1815, the region was divided again. Most of it became part of the PrussianRhine Province. Another part in the east, corresponding to the present Saarpfalz district, was allocated to theKingdom of Bavaria. A small part in the northeast was ruled by theDuke of Oldenburg.
On 31 July 1870, the French EmperorNapoleon IIIordered an invasion across the River Saar to seize Saarbrücken. The first shots of theFranco-Prussian War1870/71 were fired on the heights ofSpichern, south ofSaarbrücken. The Saar region became part of theGerman Empirewhich came into existence on 18 January 1871, during the course of this war.
In 1933, a considerable number of communists and other political opponents ofNational Socialismfled to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany that remained outside national administration following the First World War. As a result, anti-Nazi groups agitated for the Saarland to remain under French administration. However, with most of the population being ethnically German, such views were considered suspect or even treasonous, and therefore found little support.
When the original 15-year term was over, aplebiscitewas held in the territory on 13 January 1935: 90.8% of those voting favoured rejoining Germany.
Nazi period
Following the referendumJosef Bürckelwas appointed on 1 March 1935 as theGerman Reich's commissioner for reintegration (Reichskommissarfür die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes). When the reincorporation was considered accomplished, his title was changed (after 17 June 1936) toReichskommissar für das Saarland(Reich Commissioner for the Saarland). In September 1939, in response to the GermanInvasion of Poland, French forcesinvadedthe Saarland in a half-hearted offensive, occupying some villages and meeting little resistance, before withdrawing. A further change was made after 8 April 1940 toReichskommissar für die Saarpfalz(Reich Commissioner for the Saar Palatinate); finally, after 11 March 1941, Bürckel was madeReichsstatthalterin derWestmark(Reich Governor of the Western Borderland). He died on 28 September 1944 and was succeeded byWilli Stöhr, who remained in office until the region fell to advancing American forces in March 1945.
AfterWorld War II, the Saarland came under French occupation and administration again, as theSaar Protectorate. France did not annex the Saar or expel the local German population, as opposed to the fate ofUpper Silesiawhich was annexed by Poland in 1949 in accordance with the peace treaty between Poland and theGDR/East Germany(see alsoAllied-occupied Germany). In his speech "Restatement of Policy on Germany", made in Stuttgart on 6 September 1946,United States Secretary of StateJames F. Byrnesstated the U.S. position on detaching the Saar from Germany: "The United States does not feel that it can deny to France, which has been invaded three times by Germany in 70 years,[Note 1]its claim to the Saar territory".
The Saar andRuhrregions were historically rich incoalandcoke. This attracted the steel industry, which is essential for the production of munitions.[4]: 346 TheTreaty of Paris (1951)established theEuropean Coal and Steel Community, which led to the termination of theInternational Authority for the Ruhr(whose purpose was to regulate Ruhr coal and steel production and distribution). However, the Treaty sidestepped the issue of the Saar protectorate: an attached protocol stated Germany and France agreed the Treaty would have no bearing on their views of the status of the Saar.[5]
In 1948, the French government established theSaarland Universityunder the auspices of theUniversity of Nancy. It is the principal university in theBundesland, the other beingHTW.
TheSaar Protectoratewas headed by a military governor from 30 August 1945:Gilbert Yves Edmond Grandval(1904 – 1981), who remained, on 1 January 1948, asHigh Commissioner, and January 1952 – June 1955 as the first of two French ambassadors, his successor being Éric de Carbonnel (1910 – 1965) until 1956. Saarland, however, was allowed a regional administration very early, consecutively headed by:
a president of the Government:
31 July 1945 – 8 June 1946: Hans Neureuther, Non-party
a chairman of the (until 15 December 1947, Provisional) Administration Commission:
8 June 1946 – 20 December 1947: Erwin Müller (b. 1906 – d. 1968), non-party
Minister-presidents (as in anyBundesland):
20 December 1947 – 29 October 1955Johannes Hoffmann(b. 1890 – d. 1967), CVP
29 October 1955 – 10 January 1956 Heinrich Welsch (b. 1888 – d. 1976), Non-party
10 January 1956 – 4 June 1957 Hubert Ney (b. 1892 – d. 1984),CDU
In 1954, France and theFederal Republic of Germany(West Germany) developed a detailed plan called theSaarstatut(Saar Statute) to establish an independent Saarland. It was signed as an agreement between the two countries on 23 October 1954 as one of theParis Pacts, but aplebisciteheld on 23 October 1955 rejected it by 67.7%.
On 27 October 1956, theSaar Treatydeclared that Saarland should be allowed to join the Federal Republic of Germany, which it did on 1 January 1957. This was the last significant international border change in Europe until thefall of Communismover 30 years later.
The Saarland's unification with the Federal Republic of Germany was sometimes referred to as theKleine Wiedervereinigung(little reunification in contrast with the post-Cold War absorption of the GDR (Die Wende)). After unification, theSaar francremained as the territory's currency until West Germany'sDeutsche Markreplaced it on 7 July 1959. The Saar Treaty established that French, not English as in the rest of West Germany, should remain the first foreign language taught in Saarland schools; this provision was still largely followed after it was no longer binding.
It is named after the riverSaar, atributaryof theMoselle(itself a tributary of theRhine), which runs through the state from the south to the northwest. One third of the land area of the Saarland is covered by forest, one of the highest percentages in Germany. The state is generally hilly; the highest mountain is the Dollberg with a height of 695.4 m (2281 feet).
Districts of Saarland (towns dark-coloured, position of number in the capital)
Most inhabitants live in a city agglomeration on the French border, surrounding the capital of Saarbrücken.
Saarland is the most religious state in Germany. The adherents of theCatholic Churchcomprise 56.8% of the population, organised in the two dioceses ofTrier(comprising the formerly Prussian part of Saarland) andSpeyer(for the smaller eastern formerly Palatine part). 17.5% of the Saarlandic population adhere to theEvangelical Church in Germany(EKD), organised in the twoLandeskirchennamedEvangelical Church in the RhinelandandEvangelical Church of the Palatinate, both following the same former territorial partition. 25.7% are not affiliated with one of these churches.[11]
Saarland has the highest concentration ofRoman Catholicsof any German state, and is the only state in which Catholics form an absolute majority (over 50%).
Except for the period between 1985 and 1999 – when the centre-leftSocial Democratic Party of Germany(SPD) held a majority of seats in theLandtag(state diet) – the centre-rightChristian Democratic Union(CDU) has governed the Saarland, either alone or incoalition, continuously since the accession of the state to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957.
TheGross domestic product(GDP) of the state was 35.4 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 1.1% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 32,800 euros or 109% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 93% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the second lowest of all states in West Germany.[12]
Important income sources are the automobile industry, steel industry, ceramic industry and computer science and information systems industry. In the past, coal mining was an important branch of industry. However, the last coal mine in Saarland closed in 2012, ending 250 years of coal mining history in the region.[13]The decision to close the mines was motivated by safety concerns about earthquakes in the region.[14]
The unemployment rate stood at 5.8% in October 2018 and was higher than the national average but below the EU28 average.[15]
People in the Saarland speakRhine Franconian(in the southeast, very similar to that dialect spoken in the western part of the Palatinate) andMoselle Franconian(in the northwest, very similar to that dialect spoken along the riverMoselleand the cities ofTrieror even in Luxembourg).[17]Outside of the Saarland, specifically the Rhine-Franconian variant spoken in the state capitalSaarbrückenis generally considered to betheSaarland dialect. The two dialect regions are mainly separated by thedas / datisogloss; in the northwestern portion of the state, including cities such as Saarlouis, standard Germandasis pronounced with a final [t] instead of an [s].
In general, both dialects are an integral part of Saarland identity.
Both dialects, particularly in their respective Saarland flavour, share many characteristic features, some of which will be explained below.
Women and girls are often referred to using the neuter pronounes, with the pronunciation being something likeÄhs:Ähshat mir's gesaat('ittold me so', instead of'shetold me so'; vs. High German:Siehat es mir gesagt). This stems from the wordMädchen(girl) being neuter in German (esis correct in German when referring to words likeMädchenbut would not be used by itself in reference to a woman).
Theconjunctivein Rhine Franconian is normally composed with the wordsdääd(High Germantät= “would do”) orgäng(“would go”) as auxiliary verbs:Isch dääd saan, dass...(“I would say that...”) instead of the High GermanIch würde sagen, dass....
Thegenitivecase does not exist at all and is entirely replaced by constructs with thedative case.
In most instances, words are not altered when in the dative case. Exceptions are mostlypronouns.
The same holds for theaccusativecase. It is accepted practice to use thenominativecase instead of the accusative.
Diphthongsare less common than in Standard German. This is because the Standard German diphthongseiandauare each the result of amergerof twoMiddle High Germanvowels – however, these mergers did not take place in the Saarland, and only one of the two merged vowels is pronounced as a diphthong. Thefront rounded vowelsö,ü, andeuare replaced bye,i, andeirespectively.
Both the Rhine Franconian and Moselle Franconian dialects (and Luxemburgish) have merged thepalatal fricativesound as inichwith thepost-alveolar fricativeas infrisch'fresh', causing minimal pairs such asKirche'church' andKirsche'cherry' to be pronounced in the same way.[18]
French has had a considerable influence on the vocabulary, although the pronunciation of imported French words is usually quite different from their originals. Popular examples includeTrottwaa(fromtrottoir),Fissääl(fromficelle), and the imperative or greetingaalleh!(fromallez!).
The English sentence 'My house is green' is pronounced almost the same in the Rhine Franconian variant:Mei Haus is grien. The main difference lies in the pronunciation of thersound.
Regional beer brewerKarlsberghas taken advantage of the Saarlandish dialect to create clever advertising for its staple product, UrPils. Examples include a trio of men enjoying a beer, flanked by baby carriages, the slogan reading"Mutter schafft"(meaning "Mum's at work" in Saarlandish, but plays on the High German word "Mutterschaft", or "motherhood"); another depicts a trio of men at a bar, with one realizing his beer has been drunk by one of the others, the slogan reading"Kenner war's"(meaning "It was no one" [Keiner war es] in Saarlandish, but playing on the High German word"Kenner", or "connoisseur", translating to "It was a connoisseur"); a third shows an empty beer crate in the middle of outer space, the text reading"All"(meaning "empty" in Saarlandish, but playing on the same High German word meaning "outer space").
TheFrench languagehas a special standing in Saarland due to its geographical proximity to France. Today, a large part of the population is able to speak French, and it is compulsory at many schools.[19]Saarbrücken is also home to a bilingual "Deutsch-FranzösischesGymnasium" (German-French high school). In January 2014 the Saarland state government announced its aim of making the region fully bilingual in German and French by 2043.[20]
