Salmtal is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

belonging to a ''

Verbandsgemeinde A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...

'', a kind of collective municipality – in the

Bernkastel-Wittlich Bernkastel-Wittlich (German language, German: ''Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich'') is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Vulkaneifel, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück, Birkenfeld ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It became well known countrywide for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club FSV Salmrohr, who played in the Second Football Bundesliga in the 1986/1987 season.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in the

Wittlich Depression The Wittlich Depression ( or ''Wittlicher Rotliegend-Senke''), less commonly, the Wittlich Basin, is the continuation of the Trier Valley in a northeasterly direction. It is not only recognisable in the terrain as an elongated depression (geology ...

in the valley of the river Salm (''Salmtal'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

– the municipality's namesake) on the

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

en A 1 and A 60, and on the Koblenz–Trier line. Salmtal belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wittlich-Land, whose seat is in

Wittlich Wittlich (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Wittlech'') is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany, the seat of the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district. Its historic town centre and the beauty of the sur ...

, although that town is itself not in the ''Verbandsgemeinde''.

Constituent communities

Salmtal's ''

Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...

e'' are Dörbach and Salmrohr.

History

In 1007, Salmrohr had its first documentary mention as ''Rore bei Seleheim'' (compare Sehlem), and in 1250, Dörbach had its first documentary mention as ''Derinbach''. Beginning in 1794, both Dörbach and Salmrohr lay under

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

rule. In 1814 they were assigned to the Kingdom of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

. From 1947, they were part of the then newly founded

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. On 7 June 1969, the new municipality of Salmtal was formed out of the two former municipalities.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
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Mayors

The Mayor of Salmtal is Markus Peter Meyer.

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''Unter goldenem Schildhaupt, darin ein wachsender roter, silberbewehrter Löwe, gespaltener Schild, vorne in Silber ein blauer Anker, hinten Eisenhutfeh in Silber.'' The municipality's

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might in English

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

language be described thus: Per pale argent an anchor palewise azure and vair proper, in a chief Or a demilion gules armed of the first. The

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

s are all drawn from Dörbach's and Salmrohr's history. Salmrohr and part of Dörbach were once under the lordship of the Knights of Esch, which accounts for the arms’ similarity to those borne by that municipality. However, in Salmtal's arms, the “vair” pattern (called ''Eisenhutfeh'' in

, or “iron hat

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

”, a reference to the helmetlike shapes) appears only on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side, with an anchor charge on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side. This is drawn from the arms borne by Abbot Jacobus Otto of Trier, which can be seen on the gable at the Dörbacher Mühle (mill), formerly known as the estate mill of the former Klausen Augustinian Canonical Monastery. The arms have been borne since 3 January 1980, when they were approved by the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'' administration.

Culture and sightseeing

Salmtal has the following points of interest: * Acidic spring in the Hexengraben (“Witch Ditch”) * Saint Martin's Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Martin'') * Dörbacher Mühle (mill) * Salmrohrer Mühle (mill) * Saint Wendelin's Chapel (''Wendelinuskapelle'')

References

External links

Municipality’s official webpage
{{Authority control Bernkastel-Wittlich