The
Saarland (German:
das Saarland – ; - ) is one of the sixteen
federal states (or
Bundesländer) of Germany. With its capital at
Saarbrücken, it has an area of 2,570 km² and its population (as of 30 April 2012) is approximately 1,012,000. In terms of both area and population size – apart from the
city-states of
Berlin,
Bremen and
Hamburg – it is 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.