As one of the famous rivers, Saar possesses magical beauty and is loved by many tourists around the world.
In Germany, the Saar River has a winding shape, extending to Hunsruck – a low mountain range made of quartzite (a metamorphic rock made from quartz sandstone).
As a result, the Saar River suddenly turned 180 degrees upstream, forming a beautiful U-shaped bend next to the mountains.
The famous U-shaped bend in the Saar River.
Viewed from above, the Saar River section is shaped like a beautiful, gracefully curved hairpin.
The best place to see the panoramic view of Saar Loop is from Cloef – 180m above the river.
Cloef Point – the most perfect panoramic view of this legendary bend, was built to serve tourists.
Coming to the Saar River, visitors will hear the story associated with the name Spicheren-Forbach, one of the first major battles between France and Germany, which took place around the two villages of Spicheren and Forbach, near the Saarbrucken border in 1870.
At that time, German Chief of General Staff Helmuth Graf von Moltke planned to concentrate the 1st and 2nd Army Groups to support the northern flank on the banks of the Saar River – where they waited for the 3rd Army Group to defeat the French 1st Army Corps in Alsace.
However, on August 5, 1870, German commander Steinmetz arbitrarily sent troops south according to the route prescribed for the 2nd army, despite the ban on crossing the Saar River from Moltke.
Afterwards, Steinmetz explained to Moltke that the purpose of the action was `to support the 2nd Army by luring the French into a fierce attack on him`, Moltke only responded briefly that this `would push everything
And so, whether we like it or not, the Saar River has always been a bitter obsession in Steinmetz’s military career that people still pass down to this day.
Directions to Saar Loop:
Saar Loop is located in Mettlach – a municipality in the Merzig-Wadern district, Saarland region, Germany, 7km northwest of Merzig and 30km south of Trier.
You can reach Mettlach from 2 airports: Frankfurt and Luxemburg
From Frankfurt, you take the train to Mannheim, then take the train to Saarbruken to Mettlach.
From Luxembourg airport, you take the train to Luxembourg, then continue to Trier to reach Mettlach.
