| Kanton St. Gallen | |||
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| — Canton of Switzerland — | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Capital | St. Gallen | ||
| Subdivisions | 85 municipalities, 8 districts | ||
| Government | |||
| • Executive | Regierungsrat (7) | ||
| • Legislative | Kantonsrat (180) | ||
| Area[1] | |||
| • Total | 2,025.54 km2 (782.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (12/2010)[2] | |||
| • Total | 478,907 | ||
| • Density | 236.4/km2 (612.4/sq mi) | ||
| Highest point | 3,248 m (10,656 ft) - Ringelspitz | ||
| Lowest point | 396 m (1,299 ft) - Lake Constance | ||
| Joined | 1803 | ||
| Abbreviation | SG | ||
| Languages | German | ||
| Website | SG.ch | ||
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Map of St. Gallen
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The Canton of St. Gallen (German: Kanton ) 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 2010) of 478,907.[2] As of 2007[update], the population included 97,461 foreigners, or about 20.9% of the total population.[3] The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling variations include: St. Gall, Saint Gall, Saint Gallen, Sankt Gallen, and Son Gagl.
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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 along the Rhine 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.
The founding of St. Gallen is based on the Irish monk Gallus (ca 550–620 or 640), who built a hermitage at the river Steinach in 612.[4] Around 720, one hundred years after Gallus's death, the Alemannic priest Othmar built an abbey and gave it the name Abbey of St. Gallen.
In 926 Hungarian raiders attacked the abbey and surrounding town. About 1205 the abbot became a prince of the church in the Holy Roman Empire.[4] In 1311 St. Gallen became a Free imperial city. By about 1353 the guilds, headed by the cloth-weavers guild, gained control of the civic government.[4]
In 1415 the city bought its liberty from the German king Sigismund.[4] In 1405 the Appenzell estates of the abbot successfully rebelled and in 1411 they became allies of the Old Swiss Confederation. A few months later the town of St. Gallen also became allies. They joined the "everlasting alliance" as full members of the Confederation in 1454 and in 1457 became completely free from the abbot.[5]
However, in 1451 the abbey became an ally of Zürich, Lucerne, Schwyz and Glarus who were all members of the Confederation. In early 1490 the four cantons supported the Abbot against the rebellious city and the Appenzell. Following their victory the Confederation took ownership of the city of St. Gallen and rejected the inroads of the empire.
Starting in 1526 then-mayor and humanist Joachim von Watt (Vadian) introduced the reformation in the city of St. Gallen. The town converted to the new reformed religion while the Abbey remained Roman Catholic. While iconoclastic riots forced the monks to flee the city and removed images from the city's churches, the fortified Abbey remained untouched.[6] The Abbey would remain a Catholic stronghold in the Protestant city until 1803.
The canton of St. Gallen was part of the canton of Säntis during the Helvetic Republic. This was only possible after secularizing the abbey in 1798. In 1803 as part of the Act of Mediation the area joined the Swiss Confederation as canton St. Gallen. The constitution was established in 1890.
The canton is located in the north east of Switzerland. It is bounded to the north by Lake Constance (Bodensee). To the east lies the Rhine valley. Over the Rhine are Austria (state of Vorarlberg) and Liechtenstein. To the south, the canton of St. Gallen is bounded by the cantons of Graubünden, Glarus and Schwyz. To the west lie the cantons of Zürich and Thurgau.
The two half cantons Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden are completely surrounded by lands of the canton of St. Gallen.
The main rivers of the canton are the Rhine, Thur, Linth and Seez. The topography changes from the plains, near river Rhine and Lake Constance, towards the mountainous areas of the Alps in the south (Appenzell Alps and Glarus Alps). About one third (619.7 square kilometers (239.3 sq mi)) of the canton is wooded, while nearly half is 9,790.6 km2 (3,780.2 sq mi) is used for farming. 278.6 km2 (107.6 sq mi) of the farm land is alpine pastures. Of the rest of the canton, 259.1 km2 (100.0 sq mi) is considered unproductive while 176 km2 (68 sq mi) is filled with housing or roads.[7]
The altitude above the sea-level varies from 398 m (1,306 ft) (the lake of Constance) to 3,251 m (10,666 ft) (the Ringelspitz). The canton includes portions of the lake of Constance (54 km2 (21 sq mi)), of the Walensee (rather over 18 km2 (6.9 sq mi)), and of the lake of Zürich (10 km2 (3.9 sq mi)), and several small lakes wholly within its limits.[5]
The mountains of the canton include part of a thrust fault that was declared a geologic UNESCO world heritage site, under the name Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, in 2008.
Since 2003 the canton is subdivided into 8 constituencies (Wahlkreise) replacing the districts (Bezirke).
There are 86 municipalities in the canton (As of 2009[update]).[8]
88% of the population is German-speaking.[9] The main centres of population are the capital St. Gallen (69,700 inhabitants), Jona (18,100), Wil (17,500) and Gossau (17,000). The majority of the population (as of 2000[update]) is Roman Catholic (52%) while a large minority is Protestant (28%).[10]
Agricultural activity consists predominantly of dairy farming and cattle breeding in the mountainous areas. In the plains fruit and wine production are important, but there is also mixed farming.
Industries of the canton include optical goods, pyrotechnics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Tourism plays an important role in the many resorts. There is a thermal spa in Bad Ragaz and another in St. Margrethen and a great number of winter sports facilities.
Higher educational institutions include the Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil and the University of St. Gallen.
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