Saarland is one of the smallest German states. It lies to the southwest of the country and is bordered by France’s Moselle District, the Rhineland Palatinate and Luxembourg. The territory was long coveted by French Kings and Emperors but was lost to Germany in the Franco-Prussian War.
Coal has been mined here for hundreds of years – but the industry expanded rapidly in the 19th century and the Saar became an industrial hub where thousands of people worked in its coal-mining and steel-making industries – all of which made it even more attractive to France.
After the first World War, the Treaty of Versailles decreed that the area was to be administered by the League of Nations, while
