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Study in Neunkirchen district

Neunkirchen is a Saarland district of industrial heritage, small towns and green spaces, with local dual study and links to Saarbrücken.

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Panoramic view of the preserved ironworks at Neunkirchen’s Altes Hüttenareal
Photo: Nicolas Schneider (opens in a new tab), CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

In short

Neunkirchen is a rural district (Landkreis) in Saarland with 133,179 people (Destatis, 31 Dec 2024). It has one university: ASW - Berufsakademie Saarland e.V. (Neunkirchen, Saar). Summers average 18.1 °C and winters 2.5 °C, with about 935 mm of rain a year (DWD, 1991–2020).

Neunkirchen district in numbers

Population

133,179Destatis 2024 (opens in a new tab)

Area

249.8 km²Destatis 2024 (opens in a new tab)

People per km²

533Destatis 2024 (opens in a new tab)

Universities in the district

1Where Is My Uni? catalogue (opens in a new tab)

ASW - Berufsakademie Saarland e.V.

Average temperature

10.1 °C a yearDWD 1991–2020 (opens in a new tab)

Rain

935 mm a yearDWD 1991–2020 (opens in a new tab)

Sunshine

1,689 hours a yearDWD 1991–2020 (opens in a new tab)

Frost days

70 a yearDWD 1991–2020 (opens in a new tab)

About Neunkirchen district

Neunkirchen district brings together the industrial town of Neunkirchen, historic Ottweiler and smaller communities including Illingen, Eppelborn and Schiffweiler. Its character changes noticeably between town centres, former industrial sites and countryside (regional tourism board (opens in a new tab)).

Steelmaking shaped Neunkirchen’s town centre, where preserved blast furnaces now form part of the Altes Hüttenareal. Ottweiler offers a different setting, with an old town around the market square and a baroque pavilion with a rose garden (Neunkirchen (opens in a new tab), Ottweiler (opens in a new tab)).

Main towns

Universities here

Universities in Neunkirchen district, biggest first.

ASW offers dual study in Neunkirchen, combining academic teaching with employment-based practical training; its application process involves securing a study contract with a company (ASW (opens in a new tab), application FAQ (opens in a new tab)). Saarland University and the other nearby institutions in Saarbrücken broaden your options. For commuting, distinguish arrival at Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof from arrival on campus: the university lists onward buses from the station (university directions (opens in a new tab)). Neunkirchen is worth considering if you want employer-linked study or are comfortable planning your social life around a commute.

  • ASW - Berufsakademie Saarland e.V.

    Other institution · Neunkirchen, Saar · 4 courses

Find a course in Neunkirchen

Housing

Plan primarily around ordinary rental apartments and shared housing. GSG is a substantial local landlord, while Studierendenwerk Saarland lists its residences in Saarbrücken and Homburg, outside this district (GSG (opens in a new tab), Studierendenwerk (opens in a new tab)). The available evidence does not establish whether the district’s student housing market is tight or relaxed.

How to find a place

  • Check GSG Neunkirchen’s rental section and contact its letting team about suitable small apartments (GSG (opens in a new tab)).
  • Use a location-specific search such as Immowelt’s 66538 Neunkirchen page; check the address carefully because several German towns share the name (Immowelt (opens in a new tab)).
  • Consult Studierendenwerk Saarland’s private-housing guidance and electronic noticeboard, specifying Neunkirchen district in your search or housing request (Studierendenwerk (opens in a new tab)).
  • Before signing, test the journey from the actual address to your teaching location at morning and evening times using Saarfahrplan, linked by the regional transport authority (ZPS journey-planning information (opens in a new tab)).

Cost of living

For transport budgeting, the standard Deutschlandticket costs €63 per month in 2026 and covers local public transport and second-class regional trains; check whether your enrolment already includes a semester ticket before buying a separate subscription (saarVV (opens in a new tab)). Compare housing offers by total monthly cost, including heating, electricity and internet. No sufficiently reliable local student-rent benchmark or like-for-like comparison with major cities was verified, so a precise monthly living budget would be misleading.

Jobs & employers

Steel, wind-energy technology, healthcare and retail provide concrete places to investigate for work. Saarstahl has a Neunkirchen site, VENSYS recruits students locally, and the Saarpark-Center maintains a jobs portal with part-time and casual-work categories (SHS (opens in a new tab), VENSYS (opens in a new tab), Saarpark-Center (opens in a new tab)). These are useful search routes, not guarantees of a suitable vacancy.

Typical student jobs

Major employers

Getting around

The published regular timetable shows approximately 19 minutes from Neunkirchen Hauptbahnhof to Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof on RE3 services and around 26 minutes on RB73 services. These are station-to-station times; engineering works can change the journey (vlexx timetable (opens in a new tab), service changes (opens in a new tab)). For Saarland University’s Saarbrücken campus, onward options include buses 102, 112 and 124 from the main station (university directions (opens in a new tab)). Local buses serve places away from the railway, including the R6 corridor through Spiesen and Elversberg (Saar-Mobil (opens in a new tab)). The Deutschlandticket covers ordinary local buses and regional trains, but not ICE or IC services (saarVV (opens in a new tab)).

Main stations
Nearest airport

Saarbrücken Airport (SCN)

A public-transport approach is via Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof and the R10 airport bus; check connections against your flight time (airport access information (opens in a new tab), current operator timetable links (opens in a new tab)).

Weather & seasons

Long-term averages from the German Weather Service station Neunkirchen-Wellesweiler (9 km from the district centre), 1991–2020.

Winter

2.5 °C

94 mm rain a month

1.8 h sun a day

Spring

9.8 °C

66 mm rain a month

5.8 h sun a day

Summer

18.1 °C

74 mm rain a month

7.4 h sun a day

Autumn

9.9 °C

77 mm rain a month

3.4 h sun a day

Expect cool, damp winters with limited daylight and generally mild summers, though hot days occur. Rain is relevant throughout the year, so waterproof clothing is useful for the walk between home, bus stops and stations. Spring and early autumn are good times to explore the gardens; Finkenrech’s April and September markets provide seasonal landmarks (visitor information (opens in a new tab)).

Culture, language & food

Industrial heritage remains part of the cultural setting: Neunkirchen’s Gebläsehalle and Stummsche Reithalle host concerts, cabaret and readings around the former ironworks site. For evenings out, start with venue programmes rather than assuming a large student-club scene (regional tourism board (opens in a new tab)). A wider Saarland tradition is schwenken: cooking over a swinging grill, with the word Schwenker used for the grill, the meat and the person doing the cooking (Saarland tourism (opens in a new tab)).

Plan to use German for housing enquiries and everyday administration rather than assuming English service. As a practical learning target, aim for conversational German and then build the vocabulary needed for your course or job; this is not a statement of admission requirements. Local Saarland expressions also appear in everyday communication—for example, GSG uses dehemm for ‘at home’ (GSG (opens in a new tab)).

Local food

Places & events

Places to see

Events

  • Historic buildings around Rathausplatz in Ottweiler

    Historic buildings around Rathausplatz in Ottweiler

  • Countryside and the village of Lautenbach near Ottweiler, looking towards Höcherberg

    Countryside and the village of Lautenbach near Ottweiler, looking towards Höcherberg

Student experiences

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Studying in Neunkirchen district: FAQ

Is Neunkirchen a good place to live as a student?

It is worth considering for local dual study or a planned commute to Saarbrücken. ASW teaches in Neunkirchen, while regional trains connect the town with Saarbrücken; test the full journey to your teaching building before choosing housing (ASW (opens in a new tab), vlexx (opens in a new tab)).

Is there a university in Neunkirchen district?

The district has ASW in Neunkirchen, a dual-study institution operating as a scientific institution of htw saar. Its model combines academic study with company-based practical training (ASW (opens in a new tab)).

How do I get from Neunkirchen to Saarland University?

One option is a regional train to Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof followed by a campus bus. The university lists buses 102, 112 and 124 from the station; compare the complete journey in the timetable planner (vlexx (opens in a new tab), university directions (opens in a new tab)).

Is Neunkirchen expensive for students?

There is no verified local student-rent average in this guide, so compare actual offers including utilities. A standard Deutschlandticket costs €63 monthly in 2026, although your institution may provide a semester ticket (saarVV (opens in a new tab)).

Are there student residences in Neunkirchen district?

No Studierendenwerk residence in the district was verified. Studierendenwerk Saarland’s published residence list covers Saarbrücken and Homburg, so plan a local search around private rentals and shared housing (Studierendenwerk (opens in a new tab)).

What student jobs can I find in Neunkirchen?

Useful starting points are retail and casual shop work at Saarpark-Center and technical or administrative student placements at VENSYS. Check each role’s hours, qualifications and language requirements (Saarpark-Center jobs (opens in a new tab), VENSYS careers (opens in a new tab)).

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Sources & photo credits

Last updated November 2026. Population and area: Destatis. Weather: Deutscher Wetterdienst. Universities and courses: our catalogue. Everything else was researched from the sources below and checked — how we research these guides.

Sources

Photo credits

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