Canton of St. Gallen

The Canton of St. Gallen (German: Kanton  St. Gallen , Swiss German: 'Sanggale') is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. It covers an area of 2,026 km², and has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 495,824.As of 2007, the population included 97,461 foreigners, or about 20.9% of the total population. The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling variations include: St. Gall, Saint Gall, Saint Gallen, Sankt Gallen, and Son Gagl.

History

The canton of St. Gallen is an artificial construct of various historical territories, defined by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Act of Mediation in 1803. About half of the canton's area corresponds to the acquisitions of the abbey of St. Gallen over centuries.

The city of St. Gallen became independent of the Abbey in 1405. At the same time, the Abbey lost control of the Appenzell. Conversely, the Toggenburg was acquired by the Abbey in 1468. Both the City and the Abbey were associates (Zugewandte Orte) of the Old Swiss Confederacy, but unlike Appenzell never joined as full members. The territories at Lake Zürich, Walensee and Rheintal remained independent until 1798. In the Helvetic Republic, the northern parts of the modern canton together with Appenzell became the Canton of Säntis, while its southern parts together with Glarus became the canton of Linth.

St. Gallen

St. Gallen, or sometimes Sankt Gallen ( Sankt Gallen ; English: St Gall; French: Saint-Gall; Italian: San Gallo; Romansh: Son Gagl) is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 160,000 inhabitants) and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic base.

The main tourist attraction is the Abbey of Saint Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its renowned library contains books which date back to the 9th century.

The official language of St. Gallen is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect.

The city has good transport links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany and Austria. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzell Alps.

Geography

St. Gallen is situated in the northeastern part of Switzerland in a valley about 700 meters (2,300 ft) above sea level. It is one of the highest cities in Switzerland and it often receives a lot of snow in winter. The city is pleasantly situated between Lake Constance and the mountains of the Appenzell Alps (with the Säntis as the highest peak at 2,502 meters (8,209 ft)). It therefore offers excellent recreation areas nearby.

St. Gall (disambiguation)

St. Gall may refer to:

See also

St. Gallen (Wahlkreis)

St. Gallen (Wahlkreis) is a constituency in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Wahlkreis (SFOS number 1721) has been established on June 10, 2001 with an area of 157.54 km² (60.83 sq mi). The Wahlkreis has its name by the city of St. Gallen.

Demographics

Region St.Gallen has a population of 121,144 (as of 31 December 2014).). Of the foreign population, (as of 2000), 2,980 are from Germany, 4,612 are from Italy, 9,971 are from ex-Yugoslavia, 1,094 are from Austria, 1,488 are from Turkey, and 5,544 are from another country. Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 98,140 speak German, 717 people speak French, 3,333 people speak Italian, and 196 people speak Romansh.

The age distribution, as of 2000, in the region is; 11,875 children or 10.4% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 13,476 teenagers or 11.8% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 17,682 people or 15.5% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 18,404 people or 16.1% are between 30 and 39, 15,610 people or 13.7% are between 40 and 49, and 13,893 people or 12.2% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 9,958 people or 8.7% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 8,060 people or 7.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 4,502 people or 3.9% who are between 80 and 89,and there are 833 people or 0.7% who are between 90 and 99, and 12 people who are 100 or more.