The nearest major town to Schmißberg is the district seat of Birkenfeld some three kilometres to the southwest.

Nevertheless, various archaeological finds of Roman graves in the vicinity bear witness to settlers here at a much earlier time.

[1] The municipality’s arms might be described thus: Argent an anvil, the horn to sinister, and a blacksmith’s hammer bendwise, the crosspeen resting on the anvil, all sable, the chief countercompony gules and argent.

The countercompony (that is, two rows of squares of alternating tinctures) chief is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the Counts of Sponheim, who for centuries ruled the “Hinder” County of Sponheim, and bore arms that were “chequy” (similar, but with more than two rows), while the hammer and anvil are canting for the first syllable in the municipality’s name (Schmiß– comes from the base of Schmiede, meaning “smithy”).

[4] The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:[5] Hiking trails offer the opportunity for a view of the Erbeskopf, which at 816 m above sea level is Rhineland-Palatinate’s highest peak.