Spalt (Northern Bavarian: Schbåld) is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 19 km southwest of Schwabach. Spalt is famous for growing hops for brewing beer. Geography Spalt is situated between Nuremberg, Ansbach, and Treuchtlingen in the north of the Franconian lakelands. In the southwest of the city is the Great Brombachsee and its dam. The Fränkische Rezat flows through Georgensgmünd into the Rednitz. Neighboring communities (starting in the north and going clockwise) Abenberg Georgensgmünd Röttenbach Pleinfeld Absberg Haundorf Mitteleschenbach Windsbach Division of the town The following places belong to the community of Spalt: Egelmühle, Enderndorf, Engelhof, Fünfbronn, Großweingarten, Güsseldorf, Hagsbronn, Heiligenblut, Hohenrad, Höfstetten, Hügelmühle, Kaltenbrunn, Keilberg, Massendorf, Mosbach, Mühlreisig, Nagelhof, Ottmannsberg, Schnittling, Steinfurt, Stiegelmühle, Stockheim, Straßenhaus, Theilenberg, Trautenfurt, Untererlbach, Wasserzell, Wernfels Politics Udo Weingart has held the office of mayor since February 1995. He is a member of the CSU political party. Since 1972, it has had a twin town relationship with Bad Sauerbrunn in the Austrian province of Burgenland, and since 2006, another one with St. Cloud, Minnesota. Culture and sights Spalt has two museums: the Hops and Beer Museum, and a fire station museum. The end of August is celebrated by the annual Hopfenzupferfest, during which a girl is crowned the "Hops Queen." Every two years, the Funsport Challenge Madmud (well known throughout Europe) is held here. Planetenweg (Planet Path): In the Summer of 2000, a 1:1 billion scale model of the solar system was constructed between Spalt and the neighbouring town of Georgensgmünd. The model begins with a globe representing the sun behind Georgensgmünd's town hall. A 7 km bike path leads one through Rezat valley towards Spalt, where Pluto (now considered a dwarf planet) is represented at the train station of the town. Each planet model has a display board nearby with facts about the planet. Spalt is well known nationally for its beer. Throughout the surrounding area, it is nearly impossible to find any brand of beer other than "Spalter". The town has a saying about its beer: "In Spalt, in Spalt, dou wern di Leit gor alt; sie kenna nix dafier, dös macht ös goute Bier" (In Spalt, people grow very old; they do not contribute to that, it's done by good beer.) Spalt is the middle of one of Germany's hops cultivation zones, having grown hops since 1341, with the hops seal since 1538. Buildings Das