History of Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken – what’s in a name? One would tend to think that the city’s name refers to a bridge crossing the Saar River. But of the various explanations of the name’s origin, none point to any bridge. The original name “Sarabruca“ comes from the old Germanic (High German) term “sara“  – meaning a body of flowing water – and “bruca“ – meaning “boulder”. So it’s the body of flowing water at the boulder. And it is at this very boulder that the first castle buildings of Saarbrücken came to be. In the year 999, Emperor Otto III presented the bishops of Metz with the castle of “Sarrabrucca“. In 1120, the county of Saarbrücken came into existence. At that time, merchants, refugees and members of the lower aristocracy known as “Burgmannen” moved into the area and formed the settlement of Saarbrücken. Two hundred years later, in 1321, the localities of Saarbrücken and St Johann received their town privileges. In 1353, Saarbrücken came under the rule of the Counts of Nassau and would remain so until the French Revolution. Philipp III of the Nassau-Weilburg line introduced the Reformation to Saarbrücken in 1575...