Sarmersbach

Sarmersbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun, whose seat is in the like-named town.GeographyLocationThe municipality lies in the Vulkaneifel, a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth.Sarmersbach is in the traditional parochial area known as the Struth. The municipality’s namesake river, the Sarmersbach, rises within its bounds, emptying into the river Lieser at Nerdlen.HistorySarmersbach had its first documentary mention only in 1316, but its founding may be placed in Frankish times in the 9th and 10th centuries. Even earlier than that, however, Celts and Romans had settled the broad fields. Archaeological finds from a small Roman temple in the “Auf den Steinen” area can today be found in the State Museum in Trier. Right near Sarmersbach ran the former Roman road between Trier and Cologne. An ancient indulgence cross, the so-called Afelskreuz, today stands at a prominent spot, an historical procession point, and nowadays a destination for many hikers and also worshippers.