For the US military base, see Sembach Annex (Sembach Air Base).

Sembach is a municipality

Municipalities of Germany

Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...

 in the district

Districts of Germany

The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....

 of Kaiserslautern in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It forms part of the Verbandsgemeinde

Verbandsgemeinde

A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...

of Enkenbach-Alsenborn

Enkenbach-Alsenborn (Verbandsgemeinde)

Enkenbach-Alsenborn is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is located in Enkenbach-Alsenborn, and consists of the following Ortsgemeinden :...

. The town is nestled in the Palatinate Forest Nature Park

Palatinate Forest Nature Park

The Palatinate Forest Nature Park 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 Forest, the largest contiguous forest region in Germany...

 between Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...

 and Donnersbergkreis

Donnersbergkreis

The Donnersbergkreis is a district in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel.-History:...

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

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...

.

Municipal council

The municipal council of Sembach has 17 members, including the mayor (Bürgermeister).

	SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...	CDU Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...	FWG	Total
2004	7	4	5	16 seats

(Dated: elections June 13, 2004)

Sembach By Car

• The Bundesstraße 40 runs through the edge of the town. The Bundesautobahn 63
  Bundesautobahn 63
  is an autobahn in southwestern Germany. It connects the Mainz area to Kaiserslautern and the A 6 and is therefore an important connection between the Rhine/Main and the Saar areas...
  
   (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 from October 1972 until September 30, 1996. Dependent schooling from Kindergarten to 3rd grade is in Sembach Elementary School

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 and grades 4th-9th in Sembach Middle School

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

. Many other buildings consist of Sembach Annex accomplishing a variety of missions for the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. 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

Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation...

. 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

Industrial park

An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...

. 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 2010)http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=67510