Country Germany District Birkenfeld Elevation 430 m (1,410 ft) Area 168 ha Population 232 (31 Dec 2008) Dialling code 06782 | State Rhineland-Palatinate Municipal assoc. Birkenfeld Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Local time Friday 10:26 AM Postal code 55765 | |
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Weather 6°C, Wind NE at 21 km/h, 82% Humidity | ||
Schmißberg (or Schmissberg) is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Birkenfeld, whose seat is in the like-named town.
Contents
- Map of 55765 SchmiC39Fberg Germany
- Location
- Neighbouring municipalities
- History
- Municipal council
- Mayor
- Coat of arms
- Buildings
- Sport and leisure
- Transport
- References
Map of 55765 Schmi%C3%9Fberg, Germany
Location
The nearest major town to Schmißberg is the district seat of Birkenfeld some three kilometres to the southwest.
Neighbouring municipalities
Schmißberg borders in the north on the municipality of Elchweiler, in the east on the municipality of Niederhambach, in the south on the municipality of Rimsberg and in the south and southwest on the town of Birkenfeld.
History
In 1438, Schmißberg had its first documentary mention in the taxation book kept by the Counts of Sponheim. Nevertheless, various archaeological finds of Roman graves in the vicinity bear witness to settlers here at a much earlier time. Schmißberg belonged to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor
Schmißberg’s mayor is Adolf Schuch, and his deputies are Martin Thomas and Guido Schulz.
Coat of arms
The municipality’s arms might be described thus: Argent an anvil, the horn to sinister, and a blacksmith’s hammer bendwise, the crosspeen resting on the anvil, all sable, the chief countercompony gules and argent.
The countercompony (that is, two rows of squares of alternating tinctures) chief is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the Counts of Sponheim, who for centuries ruled the “Hinder” County of Sponheim, and bore arms that were “chequy” (similar, but with more than two rows), while the hammer and anvil are canting for the first syllable in the municipality’s name (Schmiß– comes from the base of Schmiede, meaning “smithy”).
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
Sport and leisure
Hiking trails offer the opportunity for a view of the Erbeskopf, which at 816 m above sea level is Rhineland-Palatinate’s highest peak.
Transport
Running west of the municipality is Bundesstraße 41, which to the south leads to the Autobahn A 62 (Kaiserslautern–Trier). Serving nearby Nohen is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen–Saarbrücken).