Information for our visitors
On this page you will find some information concerning a stay at Saarbruecken, at our research
group on Free Probability Theory and Random Matrices.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this site, please help us to improve it!
Download the main information of this page (including the campus map) here.
From Frankfurt airport to Saarbruecken central station
Saarbruecken has its own airport, but for flights from outside of Germany, Frankfurt airport isrecommended. If you arrive at Frankfurt airport, there are two different railway stations at the
airport. You can either take a long-distance train (short: ICE or IC) from Frankfurt to Saarbruecken,
departing from Fernbahnhof (short: Fernbf), or you take a regional train (short: RE) from Regional-
bahnhof (short: Regionalbf). Check the homepage of the Deutsche Bahn for train connections from
Frankfurt Flughafen to Saarbruecken Hbf (Hbf = central station). Regional trains are recommended
since there are non-stop connections available, but you can take both kinds of trains. Tickets are
available from the machines on the platforms or near the stations. In long-distance trains, you can
even buy the ticket in the train from an officer (but NOT in the regional trains).
From the central station to Motel One or Hotel Madeleine
Many of our visitors stay in Motel One. It is situated atSchillerplatz 4, 66111 Saarbruecken,
near the heart of the city, the St. Johanner Markt. It is within walking distance from the central
station (about 1km). Right in front of the central station, there is the pedestrian area,
which goes in a straight line (after a slight turn to the left) to the main place St. Johanner
Markt. In a side street to the right, the Motel One is situated.
Others might stay in Hotel Madeleine, which is also in the city center, again in walking distance
from the central station. Instead of going into the pedestrian area, turn to the left as soon as you
leave the train station by its main exit. At the crossing (after 100m), take the Kaiserstrasse - this is
the street where the tram goes. Follow this street for about 400m until you come to a (quite) big
church, the Johanneskirche. The Hotel Madeleine is to the left of the church.
Other hotels:
Hotel Stadt Hamburg (mid prized, like Motel One and Hotel Madeleine)
Domicil Leidinger (a bit better equipped)
Hotel Schlosskrug (a bit lower priced)
From the central station to the university
If you want to go from the central station directly to the university, just take a bus from the bus stationright at the exit of the train station. There are plenty going in the direction of the university.
Alternatively, you can walk to the bus stop "Rathaus". Exit the train station and turn to the left. You will
pass a parking place and come to a crossing. Take the "Kaiserstrasse" and after about 500m
you will come to the church "Johanneskirche". The bus stop "Rathaus" (see the description below)
is nearby: go to the tram station and turn right. It is at the tall red building (the city hall).
You can also take a nicer road from the central station to the bus stop "Rathaus": Exit the
train station and go straight on into the pedestrian area (the street "Bahnhofstrasse")
which goes in a straight line (after a slight turn to the left) to the city center. Turn left
just before the shopping center "Karstadt" into the "Betzenstrasse" and walk about 100m.
(Distance train station - bus stop: about 800m this way)
From Motel One / downtown to the university
There is a bus stop "Rathaus" at the city hall. Starting from Motel One, go to the St. Johanner Marktand proceed in the direction of the central station. You will pass by the restaurant "Vapiano" on
the right, and the shopping center "Karstadt" on the left. Now, turn right into the Betzenstrasse
and walk about 100m. There is a big bus stop with several busses going to the university
(or Dudweiler, which is the same direction). They come pretty regularly and you can take almost
any of them.
How to find bus connections and how to find us on the campus
One ride costs 2,40 Euro p.p. You can buy the tickets in the bus from the driver or at the blueticket machines. The one way tickets are immediately valid, so do not buy several of them at
once. There are also weekly and monthly tickets.
Here is a link to a web page (in German) where you can check some bus connections
and here is another one (also available in a French version). But the best webpage to check the bus
connections is still the one of the Deutsche Bahn (although it is in principal mainly for train
connections). Search for connections from "Johanneskirche, Saarbruecken" to "Universitaet Mensa,
Saarbruecken".
The bus stops three times on the campus. Once right before the main gate, then again on the main
square of the university and the third time at the mensa. This is where you should get off the
bus. Continue in the direction the bus goes and turn to the right after about 50m. The building
on the right hand side is the math building, number E2 4.
Most of our offices are on the first floor; Roland Speicher's office is 201; Moritz Weber's is 310.
Here is a link to an interactive map of the campus. And here is a link to a pdf version of it.
The capital letter H stands for Haltestelle = bus stop.
A bit of tourism
If you want to get some first impressions of the Saarland, take a look at this page.For week-end trips, it is a good idea to go to Metz in France (one hour by a direct train connection,
which goes pretty regular) - nice city, French flair mixed with German architecture
(around 1870 the biggest fortress in Europe), a dependance of the Centre Pompidou.
Another nice city nearby is Trier, a very ancient town founded by the Romans. They claim to be
the oldest city of Germany. (Famous: the Porta Nigra)
Also nice to go: The Voelklinger Huette. An old steel factory which was turned into a museum in
the 1980's. It is part of the world heritage and worth visiting, if you like industrial places.
Here are some video impressions on YouTube.
Another very nice thing: Hiking. The landscape around Saarbruecken is very hilly and some of its
hiking paths even won prices. Take a look at this link.
The biggest nature attraction near Saarbruecken is the Saarschleife, a more than 180 degree loop
of the main river Saar.
There is a tourist information in the Rathaus (city hall):
Kongress- und Touristik Service Region Saarbruecken GmbH
Gerberstr. 4 / Rathaus-Carree
The symbol of Saarbruecken is the Ludwigskirche, a baroque church.
| updated: 7 January 2020 Moritz Weber | Impressum |
