Saarbrucken

The common image of the Saarland region was of dirty heavy industry involving the vast deposits of coal found there. The heavy industry is no longer operational, but the Volkinger Hutte ironworks are now a UNESCO World Heritage listed site. Hence we had a pleasant surprise in store for us when, with the excuse of finding an Ikea store with a specific office desk on sale, we had a shopping expedition to Saarbrucken, about an hour east of Luxembourg, nostalgically along the road to Munich.

Georg von Hauberisser designed the Munich Rathaus as well as the Neo-Gothic town hall on St John’s Square. It features an uncommon number of modern stained glass windows as well as an elegant stone spiral staircase.

Across the Saare River, there is another stained glass delight partially hidden away under the old town hall behind the castle square. Originally dating from the 15^th century, the castle church was partially destroyed during WWII, rebuilt in 1956 and then the breathtaking stained glass and leadlight windows were created by Georg Meistermann in 1959. I defy anyone to stand in this space, surrounded by such exquisite beauty, and not be smitten. I was mesmerized.

Ludwigs Church was completely destroyed during WWII, which is hard to believe as it has been meticulously and authentically restored. Friedrich Stengel designed this 18^th century Baroque masterpiece as well as the square in which it sits majestically surrounded by similar townhouses.

The Saarbrucken Castle has been built, destroyed and rebuilt in differing styles over its 1000 year history. At one point, Stengel redesigned it as a Baroque Residence, but much of this was destroyed during the French Revolution. Finally, in 1989 the architect Gottfried Bohm designed a modern central block of steel and glass which features a particularly vicious set of automatic opening doors.

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