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Saarland is one of the 16 federal states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population it is the smallest of the German Flächenländer 'area states', i.e., those that are not City States (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg). Its location between French and German powers has given Saarland a unique history. It was the only state to join the Bundesrepublik between its formation in 1949 and the German reunification in 1990.

he state borders France (département of the Moselle) in the south and west, Luxembourg in the west and Rheinland-Pfalz in the north and the east. It is named after the Saar River, which is, in fact a tributary of the Moselle River (a Rhine tributary) and runs through the state from the south to the northwest. One third of the land area of the Saarland is covered by forest, one of highest percentages in Germany. The state is generally hilly, the highest mountain is the Dollberg with a height of 695.4 m (about 2,280 feet). Most inhabitants live in a city agglomeration on the French border, surrounding the capital of Saarbrücken.