Saarpfalz 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 south-east 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 (from west clockwise) 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...

, 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:...

, Kusel

Kusel (district)

Kusel is a district in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Birkenfeld, Bad Kreuznach, Donnersbergkreis, Kaiserslautern, Saarpfalz and Sankt Wendel .-History:The district of Kusel was created at the beginning of the 19th century...

, Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern (district)

Kaiserslautern is a district in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Kusel, Saarpfalz-Kreis, Donnersbergkreis, Bad Dürkheim and Südwestpfalz. The city of Kaiserslautern is almost fully enclosed by, but not belonging to the district.-History:The district of...

, Südwestpfalz

Südwestpfalz

Südwestpfalz is a district in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Saarpfalz, the district-free city Zweibrücken, the districts Kaiserslautern and Bad Dürkheim, the district-free city Landau , Südliche Weinstraße, and the French département Bas-Rhin...

, district-free Zweibrücken

Zweibrücken

Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...

, 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

After the Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

, the Saar basin was placed under the administration of the League of Nations

League of Nations

The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

 for 15 years. The Palatinate area, then part of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, was therefore split in two parts. The part which went into the Saar became commonly known as Saarpfalz, and was administrated by the two Bezirksamt St. Ingbert and Homburg. The Saarpfalz district was created in 1974 when the St. Ingbert and Homburg districts were merged. Since 1997 the district has had a partnership with Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico County, Virginia

Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...

.

Coat of arms

The lion in the top left is the symbol of the Palatinate (Pfalz), the cross in the top right is the symbol of Trier Trier Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC.... , both owned big part of the district in the past. The crosier Crosier A crosier is the stylized staff of office carried by high-ranking Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran and Pentecostal prelates...  is the bottom left represents the clerical possessions of the monasteries, while the silver lion in the bottom right is the symbol of the county of Homburg.

Towns and municipalities

Towns

Municipalities

Bexbach Bexbach Bexbach is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approximatively 6 km east of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken.-International relations:... Blieskastel Blieskastel Blieskastel is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately 8 km west of Zweibrücken, and 20 km east of Saarbrücken.-International relations:... Homburg (Saar) Homburg, Saarland Homburg is a town in Saarland, Germany, the administrative seat of the Saarpfalz district. With a population of c. 44,000 inhabitants, is the third city in its federal state. The medical department of the University of Saarland is situated here. The city is also home to the Karlsberg beer brewery... Sankt Ingbert Sankt Ingbert St. Ingbert is a town in the Saarpfalz district in Saarland, Germany with a population of 37361 . It is situated approx. 10 km north-east of Saarbrücken and 10 km south-west of Neunkirchen. Sankt Ingbert is an old industrial town, but most of its heavy industries have long closed down...

Gersheim Gersheim Gersheim is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, on the river Blies, approx. 15 km southwest of Zweibrücken, and 20 km southeast of Saarbrücken.... Kirkel Kirkel Kirkel is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximatively 8 km southeast of Neunkirchen, and 20 km east/northeast of Saarbrücken.-Overview:... Mandelbachtal Mandelbachtal Mandelbachtal is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, approx. 15 km southeast of Saarbrücken. Its capital is Ommersheim....

External links

• Official website (German)