Crossing the Saar River via the footbridge Alte Brücke takes you to the Stengel-designed baroque Schlossplatz, around which you’ll find the city’s ensemble of museums. The dominant building here is the Saarbrücker Schloss, which incorporates several architectural styles from Renaissance to baroque to neoclassical. The northern wing was once used by the Gestapo as offices and detention cells.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.7 MILES
The hulking former ironworks of Völklinger Hütte, 14km northwest of Saarbrücken, are one of Europe’s great heavy-industrial relics. Opened in 1873, 17,000…
14.53 MILES
Verdun had a significant military presence from the end of WWII until Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO’s integrated military command in 1966…
26.91 MILES
A stunning, romantic tribute to French art-nouveau designer René Lalique, the Musée Lalique harbours a collection assembling exquisite gem-encrusted and…
29.22 MILES
The largest single Maginot Line bastion in the Metz area was the 1000-man Fort du Hackenberg, whose 10km of galleries were designed to be self-sufficient…
27.73 MILES
The most scenic spot along the Saar River is the Saarschleife, 60km northwest of Saarbrücken, where the river makes a spectacular, almost unbelievable…
0.36 MILES
One of Saarland’s cultural highlights, the Saarland Museum’s Moderne Galerie covers European art from the late 1800s to the present, and is especially…
0.06 MILES
The Saarbrücker Schloss’ basement and a modern annex house the well-designed Museum of Regional History. The section covering Saarland from 1870 to the…
0.37 MILES
This dazzlingly baroque Catholic church, designed by Friedrich Joachim Stengel and completed in 1758, wows you with its gleaming gold altars, pulpit,…
Nearby Frankfurt & Southern Rhineland attractions
1. Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte
0.03 MILES
The standout exhibit at this museum covering the Romans, the Celts and their predecessors is resplendent gold jewellery from around 400 BC, discovered in…
0.03 MILES
The Saarland Museum’s Alte Sammlung ('old collection') displays a millennium’s worth of paintings, porcelain, tapestries and sculptures from southwest…
3. Museum in der Schlosskirche
0.05 MILES
Inside a desanctified late-Gothic church, the Museum in der Schlosskirche features religious art from the 13th to 19th centuries. Highlights include the…
0.06 MILES
The Saarbrücker Schloss’ basement and a modern annex house the well-designed Museum of Regional History. The section covering Saarland from 1870 to the…
0.26 MILES
The star at Friedrich Joachim Stengel’s handsome Ludwigsplatz, flanked by stately baroque town houses, is his architectural masterpiece, Ludwigskirche. A…
0.29 MILES
The heart of Saarbrücken, historic St Johanner Markt is a long, narrow public square anchored by an ornate fountain designed by Friedrich Joachim Stengel…
0.36 MILES
One of Saarland’s cultural highlights, the Saarland Museum’s Moderne Galerie covers European art from the late 1800s to the present, and is especially…
0.37 MILES
This dazzlingly baroque Catholic church, designed by Friedrich Joachim Stengel and completed in 1758, wows you with its gleaming gold altars, pulpit,…