People living in Germany's smallest state, Saarland, are proud of their home and their wine-drinking, barbecuing, easygoing culture. Now there is a way for Saarländer to show off that pride with tailor-made emojis.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Saarmoji
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Ever heard of Saarlaand? Maybe not. The tiny southwestern German state borders France and Luxembourg and is known for its Francophile slant, its love for wine and food - especially bologna sausages - and its specific dialect. The people of Saarland — Saarländer in German — describe themselves as relaxed and willing to "live and let live."
As of this week, there is a way to communicate the nuances of the Saarland region with almost 400 newly designed emojis.
"We Saarländer are very closely tied to our home and proud of its unique features," communications designer Zymryte Hoxhaj told reporters at the official presentation of the new emoji collection. "It's about time this found its way into digital communication."
'Main thing is, the food was good'
State says the symbols show Saarländer's prideImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Saarmoji
Hoxhaj had been the first person to float the idea of "Saarmojis" – visual symbols of food, buildings, activities, and sayings specific for Germany's smallest state. The symbols were subsequently designed by artists Olga Günther and Stefan Grenner.
The new emojis are split into 12 categories, including eating and drinking, sport, mood, and sayings. For example, the downloadable app features a dozen variants of Lyoner-Wurst, which is one of several German names for bologna, each of them signifying a different mood. Also, users can send region-specific phrases as such as "Saacre bleu" (a play on the French sacre bleu) or "Hauptsach gudd gess" ("Main thing is the food was good").
While the project's participants claim Saarland is the first state to have its own emoji collection, a similar project was reported in Hamburg as early as 2016.
'Something big always comes from something small'
Four of the Saarmoji categories (tourism, culture, economy and education) are sponsored by state money. German authorities have invested €25,000 ($30,920) in the project and have plans to take it even further. According to the daily Welt, students across the one-million-strong state would be able to attend workshops with the app's developers and create their own, new Saarmojis.
Saarland's economy minister and deputy premier, Anke Rehlinger, claims that users of Saarmojis would serve as the advertisers for the state.
The visual symbols are "a great testimony to our business culture and creativity," she told reporters.
"Humor is an especially good way to relay messages," she said.
10 reasons to love Germany's Saarland region
It may be small, but it's delightful. Let us show you the southwestern German state of Saarland!
Image: imago images/BeckerBredel
State capital: Saarbrücken
The first place to visit is the Old Town center. In the 18th century, the prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken expanded the town as a Baroque royal seat. The Baroque church known as the Ludwigskirche is a particular gem, and it's the state capital's main landmark.
Image: BeckerBredel/picture alliance
Romantic Saar River
Excellent cycling and hiking trails run along the banks of the river that gave its name to the state. They offer fascinating views of the landscape, like this one of the Saar Loop, a U-shaped bend in the river near Mettlach, pictured here in the morning mist.
Image: Alexander Schnurer/ imageBROKER/picture alliance
Glorious natural diversity
If you enjoy hiking, you'll find Saarland a very rewarding place to be. Sixty trails crisscross the state, through widely diverse natural surroundings. The Saar-Hunsrück Climb is especially popular. A few years ago it was voted Germany's most beautiful hiking trail.
Image: C. Stenner/blickwinkel/picture alliance
Industrial monuments
For about 250 years, Saarland was dominated by the steel and coal industries. They became unprofitable in the 1980s, when numerous mines and smelting plants were closed down. Nowadays you can tour many of them. The best-known is the Völklingen Ironworks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.
Image: Gerhard Kassner/picture-alliance/dpa
Art and culture in disused factories
The people of the Saarland region have been inventive when it comes to finding alternative uses for their old factories. There's a lively arts and culture scene that turns them into venues for concerts, parties and exhibitions — such as the Urban Art Biennale, an internationally renowned street art exhibition at the Völklingen Ironworks.
Image: Oliver Dietze/dpa/picture alliance
Impressive countryside
The Bliesgau region is one of 16 German UNESCO biosphere reserves. It's also called the "Tuscany of the Saarland." Fields, forests, orchards, pastures and meadows dominate the area, which is marked by a high degree of biodiversity and a close coexistence between town and country.
Image: imago images/Becker&Bredel
Multifaceted cuisine
Many organic ingredients from the Bliesgau region serve as the base for Saarland's cuisine. The choice ranges from hearty local dishes to sophisticated culinary fare. The influence of neighboring France is clearly evident in the mixture of flavors and styles here, where the most important thing is to enjoy your food, whatever its origins.
In the town of Homburg, you can see Europe's largest human-made multicolored sandstone caves. The domed ceilings of these subterranean caverns, which lie under the ruins of Hohenburg Castle, shimmer in a wide array of reds and yellows. The caves reach down 12 stories and were originally created to mine quartz and sandstone.
Image: Jogi/Eibner-Pressefoto/picture alliance
Roman legacy
Even the imperial Romans found the Saarland fascinating and left their traces on the banks of the Saar. The Borg Roman Villa Archaeology Park in Perl, for instance, is a first century-AD Roman villa reconstructed from excavations.
Image: Georg Knoll/DUMONT Bildarchiv/picture alliance
Water fun at a reservoir lake
Many vacationers go to Bostalsee, an artificial lake in northeastern Saarland near Sankt Wendel, to swim, fish, surf and camp in the great outdoors. There's a recreation park complex on its shores with holiday homes and a tropical indoor swimming pool. The lake itself was created in 1979.
Image: Harald Tittel/dpa/picture alliance
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Communications designer Zymryte Hoxhaj hopes that the idea would spread to the other German states, often referred to as "Reisch" (from Reich) by the Saarländer. Why not? After all, the state's marketing slogan is "something big always comes from something small."
