Fraulautern is a district of

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...

in the

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

region of Germany. In 1936, the village of Fraulautern was incorporated into the city of Saarlouis. It is also the source of the alternative name for Saarlouis, ''Saarlautern''. Fraulautern has approximately 7000 inhabitants.

Location

Although the city of Saarlouis proper is situated on the left side of the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...

, the district of Fraulautern (along with the districts of

Roden Roden is a name of Germanic origin, originally meaning "red valley" or an anglicization of the Gaelic name "O'Rodain". It may refer to: Places * Roden, Bavaria, a town in the Main-Spessart district of Bavaria, Germany * Roden, Netherlands, a tow ...

and Steinrausch) are found on the river's right bank. Fraulautern borders the former coal-mining facility of the neighboring community of Ensdorf.

History

Since the middle of the 12th century, a place known as "Lutrea Wilrea" was recorded as being the home of a settlement of either

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during ...

or monks. From this settlement arose the

Fraulautern Abbey Fraulautern Abbey (german: Abtei Fraulautern; la, Abbatia in Lutrea) was a community of Augustinian canonesses of the nobility, founded in the 12th century; it was suppressed in the 1790s during the French Revolution. Abbey buildings The a ...

, a Stift made up of noble

Augustinian nuns Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Roman Catholic Augustinian religious order under the canons of contemporary historical method. The Augustinian nuns, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430), are sever ...

. The name "Fraulautern" comes from both the inhabitants of the cloister as well as the celtic word "Lutra" meaning "swampy stream" - a reference here to Fraulautern's location at the junction of the Fraulautern Bach into the

. The first seal of the cloister bore the symbol of the Holy Trinity – the patron saint of the cloister. From 1581, the cloister belonged to the Duchy of Lorraine, however, the town successfully contended for

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

before the Reichskammergericht on account of its holdings in

Schwarzenholz Schwarzenholz is the second largest district of the municipality of Saarwellingen in Saarland, Germany. History left, Coat of arms of Schwarzenholtz From the Middle Ages Schwarzenholz was owned by Fraulautern Abbey, which had been granted Impe ...

. Between 1795 and 1815, it was part of the Département Moselle (

Canton of Saarlouis Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

). In 1540, the present-day Appollonia-Kapelle was consecrated as a parish church. In 1814, however, the cloister church from 1739 took over the parish church function. The decision to build a new parish church occurred in 1884 followed eventually by the laying of the cornerstone in 1893 and the consecration of the new building in 1895. The first train station within the boundaries of present-day Saarlouis was opened in Fraulautern on December 16, 1858 in the course of the construction of the

Saar Railway The Saarbrücken–Trier railway, known in German as the ''Saarstrecke'' (literally the "Saar line") in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It connects Saarbrücken and Trier. It was opened in 1858 and 1860 and is one o ...

. The move of the Saarlouis Central Train Station to its present location in

occurred on December 19, 1912. On December 1, 1944, air raids destroyed large portions of Fraulautern, including the parish church and the Apollonia-Kapelle. After the cornerstone was laid for current church, the Church of the Holiest Trinity, was consecrated on November 16, 1960 by auxiliary bishop Bernhard Stein.

Local Dialect

The local dialect in Saarlouis belongs to the Moselle Franconian/Saarlandish group of dialects.

Sources

Fraulautern: Historie
{{Authority control Villages in Saarland