Why visit Neunkirchen
Townapedia lists 123 museums and landmarks, 23 parks and trails, 256 places to eat, 8 places to stay and 14 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Galgenbergturm, Neunkircher Zoo, Spitzbunker and Zentrum für Biodokumentation.
Weather in Neunkirchen
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Neunkirchen
Neunkirchen (German pronunciation: [ˈnɔʏnkɪʁçn̩] ; Palatine German: Neinkeije) is a town and a municipality in Saarland, Germany. It is the largest town and the seat of the district of Neunkirchen. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 20 km northeast of Saarbrücken.
From the Wikipedia article Neunkirchen, Saarland (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Travel tips from other travellers: Neunkirchen on Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Photos of Neunkirchen
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Things to do14
2 more on the map.
Museums and landmarks123
städtische galerie neunkirchen
Museum
2 Marienstraße, Neunkirchen
Tu-Fr 10:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-17:00; Su 14:00-18:00
Auguste Moses
Monument and historic site · 4.6 km
Stolperstein für Auguste Moses, geb.Haas
111 more on the map.
Parks, trails and playgrounds23
11 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes256
Hostellerie Bacher-Wögerbauer
Restaurant · French · 4.4 km
2 Limbacher Straße, Neunkirchen
Mo closed, Tu-Sa 18:00-00:00, Su 12:00-15:00
Pizzeria Da Paolo
Restaurant · Italian, Pizza · 3.6 km
13 Beim Wallratsroth, Neunkirchen
Tu-Su 11:30-14:00,17:30-23:30
Zum Landsknecht
Restaurant · Regional · 3.2 km
5a Geißenbrünnchen
We 09:00-14:00, 17:30-22:00; Th-Sa 09:00-14:00, 17:30-22:00; Su 09:00-14:30
Zur Rohrbacher Glashütte
Restaurant · Regional · 5.4 km
2 Glashütter Hof, Sankt Ingbert
Tu, Th-Su 12:00-20:30
Stumm's Brauhaus
Restaurant · 0.7 km
16 Saarbrücker Straße, Neunkirchen
Mo-Th 11:30-23:00, Fr-Sa 11:30-00:00, Su 16:00-23:00
244 more on the map.
History
The earliest settlements in the area can be dated back to 700 BC. The oldest part of the town is the village of Wiebelskirchen north of the town centre; its name has been recorded as early as 765 AD and is thus the oldest Christian name in town ("Kirche" means church). The name "Neunkirchen" is recorded for the first time in 1281.
Neunkirchen belonged to the principality of Nassau-Saarbrücken, who erected two castles: a renaissance castle and Schloss Jägersberg. Both castles do not exist anymore today, but the ruins of the Renaissance castle are now the base of a little park-like area.
The famous German poet, geologist and author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited Neunkirchen and described the Castle and the Ironworks.
Neunkirchen was awarded township as late as 1922 after having been the largest village in Prussia for some time.
On 10 February 1933, an explosion of a giant gas tank at the ironwork caused 68 casualties, 190 injured. The damage spread over a part of the factory and also hit a nearby residential area and a school building. The duration of repair work and temporary closing of the damaged parts of the iron works was about nine months. This event caused worldwide media attention.
Read more of the history
Having a big ironworks complex right in the town centre made the town a target for Allied bomb raids in the Second World War. In 1945, an air raid destroyed about three quarters of the town centre. As a result, there is a large number of unexploded ordnance from WW2 still present in the area today and around 1/3 of the city consists of buildings from before 1945.
On September 10, 1987, General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party Erich Honecker visited his birthplace Neunkirchen.
From the History section of Neunkirchen, Saarland on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Neunkirchen
Economy
There are traces of surface coal mining that reach back as far as 700BC. Later on, coal was mined underground until 1968. In 1593, the first ironworks were constructed in the Blies valley. The iron ore used was from local origin.
Much of the city's fate was influenced by the von Stumm-Halberg family, who owned the local ironworks from 1806 onwards, and thus had enormous influence on the local politics.
Due to the decline of the coal and steel industry, the local economy faced aggravating hardships. With the last coal mine closing down in 1968 and the major part of the ironworks complex closing down in 1982 (only a steel-mill is still in service today), the unemployment rate rose drastically.
Meanwhile, the city has transformed into a "shopping town", a process that had been started with the construction of a large shopping centre on the grounds of the former steelworks.
Remnants of the former steelworks that had not been destroyed meanwhile have been preserved and renovated. They now serve as an industrial monument; parts of them feature small pubs, clubs, a cinema, the first of the German branch of Hooters of America, Inc restaurants and a radio studio of the McDonald's fast food chain.
From the Wikipedia article Neunkirchen, Saarland, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Neunkirchen
Stefan KuntzGerman association football player and managerPhoto: Steven Schaap, CC BY-SA 4.0
Lena LattweinGerman association football player (2000-)Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0
Tobias HansGerman politician (CDU), former Minister President of SaarlandPhoto: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shanta GhoshGerman sprinterPhoto: Orchi., CC BY-SA 3.0
Nora-Eugenie GomringerGerman poetPhoto: Heike Huslage-Koch, CC BY-SA 4.0
Katharina HobgarskiGerman female tennis playerPhoto: robbiesaurus from Smithtown, NY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
Markus GrossGerman computer scientistPhoto: Cameron Snell, CC BY-SA 4.0
Christian WirthGerman politician (AfD)Photo: Olaf Kosinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Otto SchmidtGerman flying ace (1885–1944)Photo: SDASM Archives, No restrictions
Ursula KrausGerman politician (1930-2021)Photo: Scribo, CC BY-SA 4.0- Erich Honeckerformer leader of East Germany, General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party (1976-1989)
- Walter RillaGerman actor (1894–1980)
Born in Neunkirchen, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay8
Churches and places of worship30
Dreifaltigkeitskirche
Church · Roman Catholic · 2.5 km
Prälat-Schütz-Straße, Neunkirchen
Ev. Kirche Wiebelskirchen
Church · 3.2 km
14 Martin-Luther-Straße, Neunkirchen
Shopping55
Gas and EV charging16
Schools, colleges and libraries32
Stadtbibliothek Neunkirchen — Zweigstelle Furpach
Library · 3.8 km
7 Zur Ewigkeit, Neunkirchen
Healthcare20
Map of Neunkirchen
250 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Saarbrücken Airport (SCN) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 15 km away.
- Schiffweiler 4 km northwest, about 4 min by car
- Spiesen-Elversberg 5 km southwest, about 5 min by car
- Bexbach 5 km east, about 5 min by car
- Ottweiler 6 km north, about 6 min by car
- Friedrichsthal 6 km west, about 6 min by car
- Kirkel 8 km southeast, about 8 min by car
- Sankt Ingbert 9 km southwest, about 9 min by car
- Merchweiler 9 km west, about 9 min by car
- Quierschied 10 km west, about 10 min by car
- Illingen 10 km west, about 10 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Neunkirchen
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Local news
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Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Neunkirchen Saar Einkaufszentrum1, Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bücherzelle in Neunkirchen, Gripweed, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Neunkirchen-Saar – Katholische Kirche St. Marien - panoramio, giggel, CC BY 3.0
- Neunkirchen-Saar – Katholische Kirche St. Marien - panoramio (1), Edgar El, CC BY 3.0
- Neunkirchen-Saar – Mariensäule vor der Katholischen Kirche St. Marien - panoramio, Edgar El, CC BY 3.0
- Neunkirchen-Saar – Hüttenbergstraße - panoramio, giggel, CC BY 3.0
- Falkenstraße Neunkirchen, LoKiLeCh, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Neunkirchen 11, LoKiLeCh, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Evangelische Pauluskirche Neunkirchen, LoKiLeCh, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museum IGB, [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0
- Leismann 1, EPei, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Eingang Zoo NK, Gripweed, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Pan waldstadion, Bj.Linnebach, CC BY 3.0
- Ellenfeldstadion2009, Tobias Fuchs, CC BY 3.0
- Spiesen Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Ludwig Innen 02, atreyu, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Galgenbergturm 1 (fcm), Photograph: Frank C. Müller , Baden-Baden, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gondwana-praehistorium-eingangshalle-argentinosaurus, Dhoefgen, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kasbruch Felsen, Gripweed, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Neunkirchen Saar StMaria, Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Neunkirchen Stummsche Kapelle, Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Neunkirchen Saar Christuskirche, Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wiebelskirchen Dreifaltigkeitskirche 03, atreyu, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Landsweiler-Reden Herz-Jesu-Kirche 06, atreyu, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Landsweiler-Reden, Evangelische Kirche (1), Cmcmcm1, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Evangelische. Pfarrkirche Wiebelskirchen, Gripweed, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Hangard Heilige Familie 01, atreyu, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Neunkirchen (Saar) Innenstadt Saarpark-Center, atreyu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bachschule, Gripweed, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Strix leptogrammica 02, Flocci Nivis, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Neunkirchen Stummsche Reithalle, Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Wellesweiler Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche 01, atreyu, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St. Martin (Spiesen-Elversberg) (1), Chris06, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 20200425 Wassergarten Grube Reden 18, Flocci Nivis, CC BY 4.0
- Galgenbergturm 2 (fcm), Photograph: Frank C. Müller , Baden-Baden, CC BY-SA 4.0
- NeunkirchenHochbunker1, Lokilech, CC BY-SA 3.0
- UrsapharmArena, MüllerFrankElversberg, CC BY-SA 4.0
- StMarienNeunkirchen(Saar)L1020880 (2), Oktobersonne, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St. Ingbert Beckerturm 1, EPei, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Parapuzosia seppenradensis 4, -- Xocolatl 16:32, 22 April 2006 (UTC), Public domain
- Eduard Senz - Stolperstein, Gripweed, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, soulcover, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, soulcover, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, teddy73, CC BY-SA 4.0
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