Finding an Apartment in Saarbrücken

Where to look for local ads:

There are a number of newspapers and websites that contain ads for apartments.  If you’re looking for a provisions-frei apartment (that does not require payment of a large fee to a rental agent), check the newspapers before the other websites.  The newspapers usually contain more apartments that are being offered directly by the owner or current tenant.

Newspapers:

• Saarbrücker Zeitung Immowelt: the local Saarbrücken paper. New rental ads appear twice a week, on Wednesday and Fridays (although online perhaps they are posted every day?)  I’m not sure whether all the ads that appear in the newspaper appear online as well.
• Another local newspaper is the Findling which appears on Tuesdays and Fridays and contains a large classified ad section.
• The Wochenspiegel is a free local weekly.  It’s delivered on Wednesdays.

Online sites:

• immowelt
• www.my-next-home.de
• Immobilien Scout24 – an online exchange for apartments in Germany
• immobilienmarkt
• kijiji, an online classifieds site
• University of Saarland housing bulletin board mostly has people looking for flatmates, but there are occasionally also people looking for someone to take over their lease.
• http://saarbruecken.homecompany.de/ (Specializes in sublets and furnished apartments.)

In the newspaper the ads are usually sorted by location, with the first word listing the town and/or suburb in which the apartment is listed.  If you are looking for an apartment in the center of Saarbruecken, you can ignore all the ads that mention Güdingen, Burbach, Scheidt, etc.  Stick with ads that start with “Saarbruecken”.  Occasionally the ad will mention an address, but this is rare.  If you want something near the center look for keywords like “zentrumsnah”, “im zentrum”, “innenstadt” , “zentraler Lage”, “zentral gelegen”, “in der City”, “im Herzen Saarbruecken”, “St. Johann”, “am Staden” or “Nauwieser Viertel”.  Some of the online sites allow you to search by zipcode.  Below I list a few of the zip codes / neighborhoods that lie closest to the city center:

• 66111 covers most of the city center, including St. Johanner Markt and Nauweiser Veirtel.  This zip code extends slightly west of the Hauptbahnhof, and includes most of St. Johann, up to about Paul-Marien-Str.
• 66121 lies east of the city center, from Paul-Marien-Str. all the way to Eschberg.  The western parts of this zip code are in St. Johann. Within 66121 is Am Staden, a small residential neighborhood that encompasses the region near the river.  Am Staden is the area south of Mainzer Str., between Paul-Marien Str. and Henr-Bocking Str.
• 66117 covers the region west of the “knee” of the river (i.e. where the Luisenbrücke crosses the river). This zip code covers most of Alt Saarbrücken.
• 66119 is the region hugging the southern bank of the river, southeast of Dudweilerstr.  This region covers mostly St. Arnual, but extends a bit into Alt Saarbrücken.
• 66123 is the region directly northeast of Nauwieserviertel, and extends all the way to the University district.  It includes Am Homburg.
• 66113 (not shown) is the area directly behind the train station (Rodenhof) and behind the train station and to the west (Rastpfuhl??).

More useful information on searching for an apartment in Germany:

• tips from MPI
• tips from justlanded in Germany

Useful terminology / abbreviations

See my post on abbreviations used in rental ads.