Saal is 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 ...

in the district of

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). History Kelheim is t ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is located along the banks of the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, around 25 km southwest of Regensburg.

Ortsteile

Villages affiliated to the administration (

Ortsteil A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

) of Saal are * Buchhofen * Reißing * Mitterfecking * Peterfecking * Oberfecking * Einmuß * Seilbach * Oberschambach * Unterschambach * Oberteuerting * Unterteuerting * Kleinberghofen * Gstreifet * Kleingiersdorf

History

The first settlements in Regensburg date back to the ages of the

Hallstatt culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to 6th centuries ...

. Saal was first mentioned in a document in 1002. Apparently Saal was at that time owned by Henry II, then

Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

, and given to the Niedermünster Abbey in Regensburg. Already around 1530, the

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (german: link=no, Fürstenhaus Thurn und Taxis ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the '' Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the e ...

family started to run a post-house in Saal. The German poet

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

stopped during his journey to Italy on September 5, 1786, at 15h in Saal for swapping horses at the post-house. The post horn featuring the coat of arms of Saal today still reminds of this tradition.Haus der bayerischen Geschichte
about the coat of arms of Saal Memorial-Saal-KZ-Flossenbuerg

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a subcamp of the Nazi concentration camp Flossenbürg, named ''Ringberg Me'', was installed nearby the street connecting Saal and the neighboring village

Teugn Teugn is a municipality in the district of Kelheim in Bavaria in Germany. History Teugn was the site of the battle of Teugen-Hausen in 1809, when a French army led by Marshal Davout defeated an Austrian army led by Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver ...

. The goal was to construct an underground arms industry plant for

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in part ...

, a German aircraft manufacturer. At peak times more than 600 men were imprisoned in the subcamp. After the war 20 bodies and the ashes of about 360 people were found.

References

Historical Development of Saal an der Donau (in German)Neustadt a. d. Donau > History > Goethe in Neustadt a.d. Donau (in German)Subcamps of Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg, Location: Saal a.d. Donau (in German)
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{{Authority control Kelheim (district) Populated places on the Danube