Editing Saarbrücken (section)

===Middle Ages to 18th century===
{{See also|Saarbrücken Castle#History|label 1=History of Saarbrücken Castle}}
The Saar area came under the control of the [[Franks]] towards the end of the fifth century. In the sixth century, the [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingians]] gave the village ''Merkingen'', which had formed on the ruins of the villa on the south-western end of the (in those times still usable) Roman bridge, to the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz|Bishopric of Metz]]. Between 601 and 609, Bishop Arnual founded a community of clerics, a ''[[Stift#Stift as a collegiate body or building|Stift]]'', there. Centuries later the ''Stift'', and in 1046 ''Merkingen'', took on his name, giving birth to ''St&nbsp;Arnual''.<ref name="Stadtluft8_9"/>

The oldest documentary reference to Saarbrücken is a deed of donation from 999, which documents that [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Otto III]] gave the "castellum Sarabrucca" (Saarbrücken castle) to the Bishops of Metz. The Bishops gave the area to the [[Count]]s of ''[[County of Saargau|Saargau]]'' as a [[Fee (feudal tenure)|fief]].<ref name="Stadtluft8_9"/> By 1120, the county of Saarbrücken had been formed and a small settlement around the castle developed. In 1168, [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Barbarossa]] ordered the [[slighting]] of Saarbrücken because of a [[feud]] with Count Simon I. The damage cannot have been grave, as the castle continued to exist.<ref name="GdS">{{cite book 
|last1=Behringer 
|first1=Wolfgang 
|last2=Clemens 
|first2=Gabriele 
|chapter = Hochmittelalterlicher Landesausbau
|title=Geschichte des Saarlandes 
|trans-title=History of the Saarland 
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FeGD1POy1BkC&pg=PA21 
|date=20 July 2011 
|publisher=C.H.Beck 
|location=München
|language=de 
|isbn=978-3-406-62520-6 
|page=21
|access-date = 22 July 2012}}</ref>
 
In 1321/1322<ref name="memotransfront"/> Count Johann I of [[County of Saarbrücken-Commercy|Saarbrücken-Commercy]] gave city status to the settlement of Saarbrücken and the fishing village of St&nbsp;Johann on the opposite bank of the Saar, introducing a joint administration and emancipating the inhabitants from [[serfdom]].<ref name="LHSSB"/>

From 1381 to 1793 the counts of [[County of Nassau-Saarbrücken|Nassau-Saarbrücken]] were the main local rulers. In 1549, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles V]] prompted the construction of the ''Alte Brücke'' (old bridge) connecting Saarbrücken and St&nbsp;Johann. At the beginning of the 17th century, [[Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg|Count Ludwig II]] ordered the construction of a new Renaissance-style castle on the site of the old castle, and founded Saarbrücken's oldest [[Gymnasium (Germany)|secondary school]], the ''Ludwigsgymnasium''. During the [[Thirty Years' War]], the population of Saarbrücken was reduced to just 70 by 1637, down from 4500 in 1628. During the [[Franco-Dutch War]], [[Louis XIV of France|King Louis XIV]]'s troops burned down Saarbrücken in 1677, almost completely destroying the city such that just 8 houses remained standing.<ref name="LHSSB"/> The area was incorporated into France for the first time in the 1680s. In 1697 France was forced to relinquish the Saar province, but from 1793 to 1815 regained control of the region.

During the reign of [[William Henry, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken|Prince William Henry]] from 1741 to 1768, the coal mines were nationalized and his policies created a [[Proto-industrialization|proto-industrialized]] economy, laying the foundation for [[Saarland#Economy|Saarland]]'s later highly industrialized economy. Saarbrücken was booming, and Prince William Henry spent on building and on infrastructure like the ''Saarkran'' river [[Treadwheel crane|crane]] (1761), far beyond his financial means. However, the famous [[Baroque architecture|baroque]] architect [[Friedrich Joachim Stengel]] created not only the ''Saarkran'', but many iconic buildings that still shape Saarbrücken's face today, like the ''Friedenskirche'' (Peace Church), which was finished in 1745, the ''Old City Hall'' (1750), the catholic ''St.&nbsp;John's'' ''[[Minor basilica|Basilica]]'' (1754), and the famous ''[[Ludwigskirche]]'' (1775), Saarbrücken's landmark.<ref name="LHSSB"/>