The Saar.

The article discusses the history of Saarland, the lands in the region of the River Saar in modern Germany. The region was held by the Counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken from 1381 until 1793. After the Treaty of Westphalia at the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Counts of Saarbrücken became vassals to the Bishopric of Metz and, by extension, the King of France. During the 18th-century reign of Saarland ruler Prince Wilhelm Heinrich, the coal mining industry was nationalized in the region. After the Napoleonic Wars, the region was split, some becoming part of Prussia and the other under the control of the Bavarian Palatinate.