Salgesch (French: Salquenen) is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Sable a Cross Patee Fourche Argent.

[4] 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.

[5] The municipality is located in the Leuk district, on the right side of the Rhone valley, across from the Pfynwald (Pfyn woods).

It is locally known as the Mengis-Wasserleitu, Suon von Salgesch or Bisse de Mengis.

[9] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (1,057 or 88.2%) as their first language, French is the second most common (107 or 8.9%) and Italian is the third (11 or 0.9%).

[9] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the CVP which received 68.06% of the vote.

[15] In the 2007 Swiss Council of States election a total of 706 votes were cast, of which 52 or about 7.4% were invalid.

In the tertiary sector; 79 or 45.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 21 or 12.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 32 or 18.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 1.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 10 or 5.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 9 or 5.2% were in education.

[9] From the 2000 census[update], 1,095 or 91.4% were Roman Catholic, while 28 or 2.3% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

The education system in the Canton of Valais allows young children to attend one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten.

All the lower and upper secondary students from Salgesch attend their school in a neighboring municipality.

[21] Salquenen's wine producers are extremely strict and the requirements of the label are rigorous.

In addition, only grapes cultivated according to the methods of the integrated production are admitted.

The wines must age in the producers’ cellars for at least 15 months before being presented to a national wine-tasting commission.

A wine can be called Grand Cru only if it is awarded 18 out of 20 points and will then be decorated with the golden label of the municipality of Salquenen.