Saarland

The Saarland (German: das Saarland – ) is one of Germany's sixteen federal states (Bundesländer). With its capital at Saarbrücken, it has an area of 2,570 km² and (as of 30 April 2012) 1,012,000 inhabitants. In terms of both area and population size it is – apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg – Germany's smallest federal state. The wealth of its coal deposits and their large-scale industrial exploitation, coupled with its location on the border between France and Germany, have given the Saarland a unique history in modern times.

Prior to its creation as the Territory of the Saar Basin by the League of Nations after World War I, the Saarland (or simply "the Saar", as is frequently referred to) did not exist as a unified entity. Until then, some parts of it had been Prussian while others belonged to Bavaria. The inhabitants voted to rejoin Germany in a plebiscite held in 1935.

From 1947 to 1956 the Saarland was a French-occupied territory (the "Saar Protectorate") separate from the rest of Germany. Between 1950 and 1956, Saarland was a member of the Council of Europe. In 1955, in another plebiscite, the inhabitants were offered independence, but voted instead for the territory to become a state of West Germany.

From 1920 to 1935, and again from 1947 to 1959, the inhabitants of the Saarland used postage stamps issued specially for the territory; see postage stamps and postal history of the Saar for details.