Neunkirchen

Neunkirchen is in Saarland.

Understand

Neunkirchen (the German name could be translated as "nine churches" as for the pronunciation, the "eu" is pronounced like "oi" in "noise" and the "ch" is pronounced like "j" in Spanish) is the second biggest city in the Saar area after Saarbrücken. While the river Saar does not in fact flow through town, it is often called Neunkirchen (Saar) to distinguish it from other towns of the same name. The coat of arms of the city shows a church as well as symbols of mining and industry, that are of immense historical importance for the city. Perhaps its most famous son is Erich Honnecker, who hails from Wiebelskirchen, now part of Neunkirchen. Honnecker would come to lead the GDR (East Germany) for most of the second half of its 40 year existence.

Get in

By train

• 1 Neunkirchen Hauptbahnhof. Unless you are in the area already, you will most likely have to change trains in Saarbrücken with connections to Homburg and Bingen.  

By car

The town is north west of Neunkirchen Kreuz the A8 - A6 intersection.

See

Like many other places in the Saar area, Neunkirchen has a mining and heavy industry heritage that goes back at least until the 19th century. While the huts were closed in 1982, the areal has been turned into a park and you can still see several of the remains of the former ironworks.

• 1 Alte Hüttenareal Neunkirchen. Park on site of close steelworks with a number of pieces of industrial heritage. 
• 2 Stummsche Reithalle. 
• 3 Stummsche Kapelle. 
• 4 Kirche St. Marien. 
• 5 Neunkircher Zoo. 

Sleep

• 1 Holiday Inn Express Neunkirchen, Zum Eisenwerk 3, ☏ +49 6821 9997790. (updated Jan 2016)
• 2 Hotel Am Zoo, Zoostraße 29, ☏ +49 6821 904690. (updated Jan 2016)