Salquenen

Salgesch (French: Salquenen) is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Salgesch is first mentioned in the 11th Century as Salconio. In 1225 it was mentioned as Salquenum. The transformation of Salquenen from a farming village to today's wine village began after World War II. Today, there are of vineyards and over forty wineries. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Sable a Cross Patee Fourche Argent. The coat of arms of Salquenen bears the Maltese Cross in memory of the Knights of St. John of Malta. In the 13th century, members of the Maltese Order settled in Salquenen and, in accordance with their beliefs, founded a lodging for pilgrims and travelers. The Knights of St. John remained in Salquenen for about 400 years. Salgesch has an area, , of . Of this area, or 21.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 50.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 9.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 3.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 15.4% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.4%. Out of the forested land, 47.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 0.1% is used for growing crops and 2.6% is pastures, while 18.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.3% is in lakes and 3.0% is in rivers and streams. Of the unproductive areas, 10.6% is unproductive vegetation and 4.9% is too rocky for vegetation. The municipality is located in the Leuk district, on the right side of the Rhone valley, across from the Pfynwald (Pfyn woods). It is the westernmost German speaking municipality in Valais. A small water channel from medieval times runs through the municipality. It is locally known as the Mengis-Wasserleitu, Suon von Salgesch or Bisse de Mengis.