St. Ingbert's golden age began with industrialization. With the founding of iron foundries, forges, glassworks and coal mines, the city grew rapidly. In 1733, the first ironworks, the Schmelz, went into operation. Today, the relics of this period can still be visited, such as the Alte Schmelz housing estate, one of the oldest factory housing estates in southwestern Germany.
The Möllerhalle and the mechanical workshop, which is now used as an industrial cathedral for events, are in the immediate vicinity. The Rischbachstollen, a former mine from the mid-18th century, has now been developed into an adventure mine and is definitely worth a visit. The pedestrian zone in Kaiserstraße invites you to stroll and enjoy. Between shops, restaurants and ice cream parlors stands the baroque Engelbert Church (1755) with a carillon consisting of 23 bells. Not far from the pedestrian zone, you will reach the green lung of St. Ingbert, the Gustav-Clauss-Anlage with a beautiful pond and a children's playground.
Around St. Ingbert, green hills with lots of forests invite you to take a walk or hike. On the Hüttenwanderweg (a hiking trail with huts), you can hike to five huts in one go. In Schüren, a small hamlet with excursion restaurants, you can start into the beautiful Ruhbachtal. The Glashütter Weiher recreation area near Rohrbach, with a fishing hut and excursion restaurant, also invites you to hike. In the district of Oberwürzbach there is a historic wash house (early 20th century). In the district of Rentrisch, in the middle of a front garden, stands the so-called Spellenstein, a menhir from the Later Stone Age. The town's emblem is the Stiefeler Felsen (Big Boot Rock). The table rock, formed by erosion into a giant shoe, made of red sandstone, gave the mountain on which it stands, the Great Boot, its name.
St. Ingbert is also a leader in the field of culture. The “Sankt Ingberter Pfanne” is now one of the top three cabaret prizes in the German-speaking world. It is a cabaret prize that has been awarded annually by the city of Sankt Ingbert since 1985.
