Salem is a municipality in the Bodensee district of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

in Southern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, located 9 km north of Lake Constance, with a population of 11,100.

Geography

The community is located about nine kilometers east of Überlingen and ten kilometers north east of Meersburg in

Linzgau Linzgau is a historic region in Southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley. Geography The region is bounded by the shore of Lake Constance on the south, the Hegau regi ...

mainly in the valley of

Linzer Aach The Seefelder Aach is a river in the districts of Sigmaringen and Bodenseekreis, Tübingen region, southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is approximately 55 kilometres long and flows into Lake Constance. It has a catchment area of 279 k ...

. The district Oberstenweiler is situated on a side peak of the Gehrenberg up to 600 m height. The district area covers approximately 6270 hectares 1(as of December 31, 2014). (Date: 31 December 2014).Gemarkungsfläche 62.698.426 m² (Date: 31. Dezember 2014).

Neighboring communities

The community is adjacent to Überlingen, Meersburg, Bermatingen, Heiligenberg, Deggenhausertal,

Frickingen Frickingen is a municipality and a village in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

and Uhldingen-Mühlhofen.

Municipality arrangement

The town of Salem consists of eleven member locations :.Vgl. ''Salem''. in: ''Das Land Baden-Württemberg. Amtliche Beschreibung nach Kreisen und Gemeinden. Band VII: Regierungsbezirk Tübingen'', Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1978, . S. 590–596. The locations are listed below: (As at 31 December 2014)area 62.698.426 m² (Stand: 31. Dezember 2014).Einwohner und Fläche
der Gemeinde Salem; retrieved 24. February 2015 *Salem Stefansfeld (chief town) 743 ha *Beuren 888 ha *Buggensegel 361 ha *Grasbeuren 347 ha *Mimmenhausen 628 ha *Mittelstenweiler 314 ha *Neufrach 1030 ha *Oberstenweiler 324 ha *Rickenbach 171 ha *Tüfingen 911 ha *Weildorf 551 ha

History

For a detailed history of the monastery see the article Salem Abbey. The area has been populated since at least the Bronze Age. Beginning in the 3rd century, the Alemanni and, later, the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

established several villages, including the small settlement Salemanneswilare (later Salmannsweiler). Salem Abbey, founded by the Order of Cistercians, was established here in 1134. It quickly achieved the rank of an

imperial abbey Princely abbeys (german: Fürstabtei, ''Fürststift'') and Imperial abbeys (german: Reichsabtei, ''Reichskloster'', ''Reichsstift'', ''Reichsgotthaus'') were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of impe ...

. From about 1285 to 1425, the High Gothic Salem Münster (Minster) was built, and has been preserved until the current day. In the 17th century, the monastery had to cope with serious setbacks. The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

brought death and destruction to many areas. And, in 1697, a fire destroyed not only most of the buildings, but also numerous art treasures owned by the abbey. Subsequently, under the master builder Franz Beer of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

, the Baroque buildings currently standing on the site were built. Among other things, Abbot Anselm II Schwab founded an Orphans' Fund in 1749 that is considered the first

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...

in Germany. Anselm also had the pilgrimage church Birnau built on the shores of Lake Constance. The heyday of the monastery ended with the German mediatization in 1803. It was secularized, and the territory fell to the

Margraviate of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

Culture and sights

The Cistercian monastery of Salem Abbey was founded in 1134 when the knight Guntram von Adelsreute donated land for its establishment. The abbey already had its own

scriptorium Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes an ...

in the 12th century and formed one of the most important monastery libraries in Europe. Salem Internat 1

Currently the grounds are home to the middle school campus of the boarding school

Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'', ''Salem Castle School'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur, as well as the Inter ...

, founded in 1920 by

Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonsto ...

and Prince Max of Baden. The abbey complex covers a total of 17 hectares. Other sights are the Gothic style Salem Minster (the former church of the abbey complex) and the Baroque chapel.

Sports

In summer the Schlosssee (castle lake) attracts swimmers from all over the region. There are also tennis courts, a football and athletics stadium, sports grounds, sports halls and rehearsal rooms for teams.Peter Schober: ''Salem. Salem ist nicht Hintertupfingen''. In: ''Die Region stellt sich vor. Wir sind hier''. Sonderbeilage des ''

Südkurier The Südkurier is a regional daily newspaper in Germany serving the regions northwest of Lake Constance, Hochrhein and Black Forest with its headquarters Konstanz, Germany. The paper appears with a circulation of around 130,000, six times per w ...

'' vom 19. November 2010, S. 8.

Teams

Fanfarenzug Salem during the day of open doors on 14 September 2014 in Salem Monastery and Palace. Salem has numerous clubs, including the Fanfarenzug Salem.Vereine in Salem (Baden).

Regular events

The Schloss Seefest Salem, one of the largest open-air events in the Lake Constance region, is held every first summer holiday weekend. International artists perform large outdoor concerts on the castle grounds in the lakeside park.

Notable people

Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer (6 March 1696 (baptized) – 2 January 1770) was an important Rococo stuccoist and sculptor, active in southern Germany and Switzerland. J. A. Feuchtmayer was born in Linz, a member of the famous Feuchtmayer family ...

(1696–1770),

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

plasterer and sculptor * Jodok Pein (died after 1729), archivist, konzipist and teaching provost * Johann Baptist von Keller (1774–1845), Bishop of Rottenburg * Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (born 1933), head of the House of Baden since 1963. * Abdullah Wagishauser (born 1950), Muslim cleric * Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden (born 1970), German prince and heir to the head of the House of Baden * Alexander Hahn (born 1987), politician (FDP)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salem, Baden-Wurttemberg Bodenseekreis