SAVERNE (anc. Taberna, Germ. Zabern), a town of France, in the department of Bas-Rhin, on the Zorn, 19 miles N.W. of Strasburg. It stands on the east slope of the Vosges, where the Paris road descends the hill in zig-zags. The town is irregularly built and in no way remarkable, the principal building being the large castle of red sandstone, formerly a residence of the bishops of Strasburg, and now partly used for barracks; the old parish church; and the château, converted in 1852 into an hospital for widows. Woollen cloth, hosiery, leather, hardware, bricks, tiles, &c., are made here; and there is some trade in timber from the Vosges. Saverne is an ancient place, and was formerly fortified. It suffered very much during the Thirty Years' War; and its fortifications were destroyed in 1696. Pop. 6407.