Sarrebourg

Sister cities

• Saarburg

History

The first mention of a settlement on the present site of Sarrebourg was found in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The town is referred to as Ponte Saravi, located between Ad Decem Pagos (Tarquimpol) and Tabernis (Saverne) on the edge of the Silva Vosagus, the present-day Vosges mountains. The Antonine Itinerary, a second, later Roman source, refers to the place as Ponte Sarvix. From a toponymic aspect, the meaning of 'Ponte Saravi' and 'Ponte Sarvix' is "a bridge over the Saar". This is why scholars have named the ancient city of Sarrebourg "Pont de la Sarre", i.e. Pons - the Latin nominative for "bridge" - and Saravi - the Latin genitive of "Saravus", the name given by the Romans to the river that nowadays flows across the commune. At that time, the town was located on the via salinensis, an important Roman road linking Divodurum (Metz) to Argentorate (Strasbourg) via the Saverne pass and part of the great itinerary from Gesoriacum (Boulogne-sur-Mer) to Argentorate (Strasbourg) via Samarobriva (Amiens) and Durocortorum (Reims). The ancient town of Pons Saravi developed around the Sarre, thanks to a wooden bridge. It was of an estimated width of eight meters and connected the current halls to the street of the Lieutenant-Bildstein. Its last version was dated from 247 AD. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Sarrebourg was a fortified town, located on the edge of the Lorraine and Rhine regions. It became the centre of a territory on the fringes of the influence zones of the neighbouring Lorraine and Alsatian powers. The existence of a saroensis pagus has been documented since the end of the 7th century; at that time the city had, among other things, a mint workshop. The Treaty of Meerssen, which concluded in 870 the division of Lotharingie between Charles the Bald and…

Geography

Sarrebourg is located in the department of Moselle, Lorraine, administrative region of Grand Est. It lies in on the upper course of the river Saar. The Vosges mountains are located about 10 kilometers south of the locality. To the northwest, the Oberwald forest massif - where the state forest of the municipality is located. It is 54 km away from Strasbourg, 64 km from Nancy, 77 km from Metz and 345 km from Paris (orthodromic distance). Sarrebourg station has rail connections to Paris, Strasbourg, Metz and Nancy. The commune is on the route of the Route nationale 4. Sarrebourg is the departure point of several departmental roads: D 27 to Morhange, D 43 to Sarre-Union, D 44 to Le Donon and Schirmeck, D 45 to Dabo and Walscheid. The agglomération de Sarrebourg has a public transport network called iSibus. It was inaugurated by the Communauté de communes de l'agglomération de Sarrebourg on 16 September 2009. The network has two regular bus connections. The EuroVelo 5 cycling route passes to the south of the municipality. It is possible to reach Strasbourg, via Lutzelbourg and Saverne, by following the Marne–Rhine Canal. The old railroad tracks in the direction of Abreschviller and Troisfontaines have been converted into bicycle paths. The commune is the starting point of the GR 533 footpath.