Saarbrücken

City on the River Saar, and capital of Saarland, Germany, 64 km/40 mi southeast of Trier; population (1995) 187,800. It is the centre of a coal-mining district. There are engineering industries, and optical equipment and cars are manufactured. Formed in 1909 by the amalgamation of the old town with the towns of Burbach and St Johann on the opposite bank of the river, it has been the capital of Saarland since 1919.

There is a university, and research laboratories have been developed. There are museums of geology and mining, pre- and early history, and of Saarland arts and culture.