Founded in November 1948, Saarland University was originally established as a bilingual university that combined French and German educational traditions while offering a unique European perspective.
The university, which was established with the support of the French Government and the University of Nancy, was the first to be founded west of the River Rhine after the Second World War. At the time Saarland found itself in the special situation of being partly autonomous and linked to France by economic and monetary union. Prior to the foundation of the University, clinical training courses for medical students had been introduced at the state hospital in Homburg/Saar in January 1946 with the "Centre Universitaire d'Études Supérieures de Hombourg" established on 8 May 1947 under the patronage of the University of Nancy.
