Lulustein, Historic memorial stone in Alt-Saarbrücken, Germany

The Lulustein is a black granite stone monument standing on a former parade ground behind the ATSV Saarbrücken sports hall in Alt-Saarbrücken. Its surface displays the inscription 'Lulustein 2ten August 1870 V.V.', marking the date and historical significance linked to German-French military events.

The stone recalls 2 August 1870, when the 14-year-old Prince Imperial Napoléon Eugène Louis Bonaparte, called "Lulu", fired a mitrailleuse from this former parade ground under Napoleon III's supervision. French troops under Frossard had occupied the height and shelled the new bridge, St. Johann station and Prussian positions; four days later they were defeated at Spichern. Bremen veteran H. H. Baumann, who toured the battlefields after the war, had the first stone set here.

The stone marks a turning point in German-French relations that locals connect to their regional past. Its inscription tells of a moment when borders shifted in this part of Europe.

The stone sits on a former military ground and is easy to reach from the street that shares its name. Visitors should know that it is an open-air monument accessible at any time.

The original stone was already so damaged by souvenir hunters that in June 1873 it was replaced by a larger monument about three feet high and wide and two feet thick. That replacement was described as badly battered a year later, and the stone has been renewed several times since.