Saarlouis (district)

Saarlouis is a Kreis (district

District

Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...

) in the middle of the Saarland

Saarland

Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Neighboring districts are Merzig-Wadern

Merzig-Wadern

Merzig-Wadern is a Kreis in the northwest of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Sankt Wendel, Saarlouis, and the French département Moselle, and Luxembourg.-History:...

, Sankt Wendel

Sankt Wendel (district)

Sankt Wendel is a Kreis in the north of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Birkenfeld, Kusel, Neunkirchen, Saarlouis, and Merzig-Wadern.-History:...

, Neunkirchen

Neunkirchen (German district)

Neunkirchen is a Kreis in the middle of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Sankt Wendel, Kusel, Saarpfalz, Saarbrücken, and Saarlouis.-History:...

, Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken (district)

The Regionalverband Saarbrücken is a Kommunalverband besonderer Art, an integration of a district and a district-free town. It is located in the south of the Saarland, Germany...

, and the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 département Moselle

Moselle

Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

.

History

The district was part of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 of the German nation. The biggest part of the district was part of duchy of Lorraine

Lorraine (province)

The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....

 which gradually came under French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 sovereignty (still as a part of the holy empire) between 1737 and 1766. Other villages were part of the county of Nassau-Saarbrücken. The territory of the city Saarlouis

Saarlouis

Saarlouis is a city in the Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2006, the town had a population of 38,327. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located at the river Saar....

  which was built to protect the border, came to France as part of the three Bishoprics. Other villages, which today are considered to be too small to form villages of their own were independent empirial territories. The district showed the fundamental problem of the whole empire: A strong influence of foreign rulers and mircro-sized territories. After the Napoleonic wars the area went to Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, which in 1816 created the district as part of its Rhineland

Rhineland

Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....

 province. Between 1936 and 1945 it was called Saarlautern, when the Nazi government attempted to conceal the name's French origin.

Coat of arms

The checked black-and-white top part of the coat of arms is taken from the coat of the Hohenzollern, to remember that the area belonged to the German Empire German Empire The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...  (which was ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty) directly. The bottom part is the coat of arms of the Lorraine Lorraine (province) The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy.... , as Saarlouis belonged to Duchy of Lorraine 1100-1766. The star stands for the French fortress of Saarlouis, the origin of the city, which was built in a star form. The fleur-de-lis Fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...  comes from the coat of arms of the city Saarlouis.

Towns and municipalities

Towns	Municipalities
Saarlouis Saarlouis Saarlouis is a city in the Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2006, the town had a population of 38,327. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located at the river Saar.... Lebach Lebach Lebach is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km northeast of Saarlouis, and 20 km north of Saarbrücken.-External links:*... Dillingen Dillingen, Saarland Dillingen is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 5 km northwest of Saarlouis, and 25 km northwest of Saarbrücken. The Dillinger Hütte steelworks is located here....	Bous Bous, Germany Bous is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 5 km southeast of Saarlouis, and 15 km west of Saarbrücken.... Ensdorf Ensdorf, Saarland Ensdorf is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the river Saar, opposite Saarlouis, approx. 20 km northwest of Saarbrücken.... Nalbach Nalbach Nalbach is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 8 km northeast of Saarlouis, and 20 km northwest of Saarbrücken.... Rehlingen-Siersburg Rehlingen-Siersburg Rehlingen-Siersburg is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 8 km northwest of Saarlouis, and 30 km northwest of Saarbrücken.... Saarwellingen Saarwellingen Saarwellingen is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis in Saarland, Germany. As of 2002 it has a population of 13,940.-External links:*http://www.saarwellingen.de...	Schmelz Schmelz Schmelz is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km northeast of Saarlouis, and 25 km northwest of Saarbrücken.-References:... Schwalbach Schwalbach, Saarland Schwalbach is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 5 km east of Saarlouis, and 15 km northwest of Saarbrücken.... Überherrn Überherrn Überherrn is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated along the river Bist on the border with France, approx. southwest of Saarlouis, and west of Saarbrücken. It has 12,150 inhabitants. At the part Felsberg-Berus, there is the Longwave transmitter Europe... Wadgassen 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.-Fusion:... Wallerfangen Wallerfangen Wallerfangen is a municipality of Saarlouis district, Saarland, Germany. Located west of Saarlouis and along the French border, it is the seat of the villages of Ittersdorf, Ihn, Leidingen, St. Barbara, Kerlingen, Gisingen, Rammelfangen, Oberlimberg, Bedersdorf, and Düren...

External links

• Official website (German)