Sembach is a

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

in the

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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Kaiserslautern in the state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) 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 ...

, Germany. It forms part of the ''

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhinelan ...

'' of

Enkenbach-Alsenborn Enkenbach-Alsenborn is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the northern edge of the Palatinate forest, approx. 10 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. Enkenbach-Alsenborn is also ...

. The town is nestled in the

Palatinate Forest Nature Park The Palatinate Forest Nature Park (german: Naturpark Pfälzerwald) lies in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany and borders on France. The nature park covers an area of and some 76% of its area is under the woods of the Palatinate Fore ...

between

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankf ...

and

Donnersbergkreis The Donnersbergkreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel. History The district was created in 1969 by merging the d ...

. Sembach was first mentioned in the 13th century, in a document about a donation to the monastery of Enkenbach.

Politics

Municipal council

The municipal council of Sembach has 17 members, including the mayor (Bürgermeister). (Dated: elections June 13, 2004)

Sembach By Car

*The Bundesstraße 40 runs through the edge of the town. The Bundesautobahn 63 (Kaiserslautern- Mainz) exit Sembach, is 1 km from the middle of Sembach. Frankfurt is 107 km north from Sembach, and downtown Kaiserslautern (Stadtmitte) is about 8 km away.

American military influence

Headquarters of

17th Air Force The Seventeenth Expeditionary Air Force (17 EAF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during (1953–1996) and United States Air ...

from October 1972 until September 30, 1996. Dependent schooling from Kindergarten to 3rd grade is in Sembach

Elementary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

and grades 4th-9th in Sembach

Middle School A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

. Many other buildings consist of

Sembach Annex Sembach Kaserne is a United States Army post in Donnersbergkreis, Germany, near Kaiserslautern, and is about 19 miles (30 km) east of Ramstein Air Base. Prior to 2010, the installation was a United States Air Force installation and prior to ...

accomplishing a variety of missions for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. Sembach Airbase was shut down in 1996 with the runway shutting down and the remainder of Sembach AB being transferred to its current status as an annex of

Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also ...

. The former runway has been mostly dismantled except for a small stretch at the eastern end with the remainder of the former facility now being an

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...

. An article dated 26 January 2010 in the Stars & Stripes stated the facility would be turned over to the U.S. Army by the end of fiscal year 2010 (30 Sep 201

References

External links

Sembach Missileers - 38th TAC Missile Wing Missileers stationed at Sembach AB, Germany, 1959-1966
{{Authority control Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate American diaspora in Europe Kaiserslautern (district) North Palatinate Palatinate Forest