By contrast, the “old” Saarland is gradually becoming a driving force of the Saarland tourist industry. The best example of this is the Völklinger Hütte. Steel was produced here for more than 100 years; Völklingen was synonymous with the coal and steel industry in Saarland. 17,000 people were still working at the Völklinger Hütte in 1965. Then came the steel crisis, and in 1986 the last blast furnace was extinguished.

In 1994 the Völklinger Hütte was declared part of the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Today, the former complex, consisting of blast furnaces, pump house, blowing engine room and workshops, is a major tourist attraction and a popular venue for events. The exhibition “Inca Gold – 3,000 Years of High Cultures” was seen by almost 200,000 visitors, and in May, the exhibition “Treasures from the Orient” will be opened.

Villeroy & Boch is surely the most famous company in Saarland. The ceramics and porcelain emporium manages its global business from Mettlach. This family business, which is more than 250 years old, is located in a former Benedictine abbey and attracts tourists with porcelain treasures from several centuries, which are on show in its own Ceramics Museum in the Old Abbey.

Not far away is the most beautiful place in Saarland, the Loop of the Saar. From Cloef, 200 metres above the river, you can enjoy the view which once enchanted Victor Hugo. Montclair Castle, situated on the long mountain ridge around whose steep cliffs the Saar meanders, is legendary.