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Herisau is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...
and the capital of the
canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
of
Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Ausserrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden; rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadora; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Esterno) is one of the 26 canton ...
in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated in Trogen. The central hamlet and the houses around the central square, the Protestant church of 1580, the houses ''Wetter'' and ''zur Rose'' (both 1737), the hamlet ''Schwänberg'' and the government building with the state archive are listed as heritage sites of national significance.
Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...
(1995), p. 55.
Together with other Alpine towns Herisau engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc. Herisau was awarded Alpine Town of the Year 2003.


History

Herisau was first mentioned in 837 as ''Herinisauva'', and its church is mentioned in 907. In 1084 Herisau was destroyed as part of battles around the monastery in St. Gallen. In 1248 and 1249 the town was destroyed again, this time by the monastery to establish loyalty. In 1401 Herisau joined an alliance with other places in Appenzell as part of the
Appenzell Wars The Appenzell Wars (german: Appenzeller Kriege) were a series of conflicts that lasted from 1401 until 1429 in the Appenzell region of modern-day Switzerland. The wars consisted of uprisings of cooperative groups, such as the farmers of Appenzell ...
. Between 1517 and 1518 Herisau managed to buy itself free from the monastery. The town hall was built in 1601. In 1606 the town was largely destroyed by a fire. In 1648 Schwellbrunn separated and became an independent village. Between 1798 and 1803 Herisau was the capital of the canton ''Säntis''.


Geography

Herisau has an area, , of . Of this area, 56.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 15.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.6%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). The municipality is located in the former District of Hinterland. It is located at the crossing point of two major routes through the region, the
St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...
-
Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( ...
road and the Gossau-
Appenzell Appenzell is a historic canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered a league with the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411, ...
road. In addition to being the capital of the half canton, about one-third of the population of the entire half canton lives in Herisau. It consists of the village of Herisau and scattered hamlets as well as bedroom communities and industrial sections. Before 1648 it controlled about twice the land area as is currently part of the municipality. Until 1648 Schwellbrunn was part of the municipality and until 1720, Waldstatt was part of Herisau.


Demographics

Herisau has a population () of 15,527, of which about 17.9% are foreign nationals.Brief Statistics for the half-canton
accessed 15 September 2009
Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.2%. Most of the population () speaks German (87.0%), with Serbo-Croatian being second most common ( 3.8%) and Italian being third ( 3.4%).
accessed 15-Sep-2009
, the gender distribution of the population was 49.6% male and 50.4% female. The age distribution, , in Herisau is; 1,194 people or 7.5% of the population are between 0–6 years old. 1,775 people or 11.2% are 6-15, and 835 people or 5.3% are 16–19. Of the adult population, 945 people or 6.0% of the population are between 20–24 years old. 4,760 people or 30.0% are 25–44, and 3,831 people or 24.1% are 45–64. The senior population distribution is 1,702 people or 10.7% of the population are between 65–79 years old, and 840 people or 5.3% are over 80.Appenzell Outer Rhodes website
accessed 15 September 2009
In the 2007 federal election the FDP received 76.7% of the vote. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Herisau about 66.2% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory
upper secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...
or additional higher education (either university or a ''
Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied ar ...
'').


Historical population

The historical population is given in the following table:


Weather

Herisau has an average of 154 days of rain per year and on average receives of
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hai ...
. The wettest month is July during which time Herisau receives an average of of precipitation. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.9 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 15.3, but with only of precipitation. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 13.9 days., the weather station elevation is 700 meters above sea level.


Economy

Herisau is located in the centre of eastern Switzerland. As early as 1537 it established itself as an important centre of trade and commerce. Herisau has an unemployment rate of 2.01%. , there were 340 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 115 businesses involved in this sector. 2,959 people are employed in the
secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructio ...
and there are 189 businesses in this sector. 4,505 people are employed in the
tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector ( raw materials) and the secon ...
, with 651 businesses in this sector.


Transport

The municipality has three railway stations: , , and .


Sport

SC Herisau SC Herisau is a Swiss ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hocke ...
plays in the Swiss 1. Liga.


Notable residents

* Johannes Zollikofer (1633-1692), priest, lived in Herisau from 1666 to his death * Santiago Roth (1850 in Herisau – 1924), a Swiss Argentine
paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...
*
Jakob Heierli Jakob Heierli (August 11, 1853 - July 18, 1912) was a Swiss teacher, prehistorian and archaeologist. Biography Jakob Heierli was born on August 11, 1853, in Herisau to Christian Heierli, a weaver, and Katharina Barbara, née Tanner. From 1871 ...
(1853-1912), the Swiss archaeologist and prehistorian, was born in Herisau *
Emil Sonderegger Emil Sonderegger (born 28 November 1868 in Herisau – died 15 July 1934) was a Swiss military officer who later became involved in the country's far right political scene. The son of leading embroidery businessman, Sonderegger initially wor ...
(born 1868 in Herisau – 1934), military officer, became involved in far right politics * Johannes Baumann, (1874–1953), member of the Swiss Federal Council (1934–1940) *
Adolf Naef Adolf Naef (1 May 1883 – 11 May 1949) was a Swiss zoologist and palaeontologist who worked on cephalopods and systematics. Although he struggled with academic politics throughout his career and difficult conditions during World War I and II ...
(1883 in Herisau – 1949), a Swiss zoologist and
palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
, worked on
cephalopods A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...
* Hermann Rorschach, (1884-1922), psychologist * Robert Walser (1878–1956), German speaking Swiss writer * Nikolaus Senn (1926–2014), former co-director of ''Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft'' * Hans-Rudolf Merz, (born 1942), member of the Swiss Federal Council (2003–2010) *
Markus Zürcher Markus Zürcher (February 24, 1946 in Herisau – February 16, 2013) was a Swiss painter and representative of conceptual art and minimalism. Zürcher completed his initial training as Schaufensterdekorateuer in St. Gallen, after which he shif ...
(1946-2013), Swiss visual artist, representatives of conceptual art *
Ruth Erat Ruth Erat (born 3 August 1951 in Herisau, Switzerland) is a Swiss teacher, author, painter, and politician. Life Erat grew up in Bern and Arbon and holds a degree from the University of Zurich. She obtained her PhD in 1985 after completing a ...
(born 1951), Swiss teacher, writer, painter and politician *
Paul Giger Paul Giger (born 1952 in Herisau, Switzerland), is a Swiss violinist and composer. He plays contemporary classical music, jazz, and free improvised music, and specializes in extended techniques. He has released six CDs on the ECM label and co ...
(born 1952), violinist and composer * Theodoros Orfanidis (born 1975 in Herisau), conductor, husband of Sonia Theodoridou, soprano *
Annette Gigon Annette Gigon (born May 24, 1959) is a Swiss architect born in Herisau, Switzerland. She is a founding partner of the office Gigon/Guyer and holds a Chair of Architecture at ETH Zurich. Life Annette Gigon graduated from the Swiss Federal Insti ...
(born 1959 in Herisau), a Swiss architect *
Jörg Eugster Jörg Eugster (born January 4, 1960) is a Swiss author and blogger. Life Eugster was born on January 4, 1960 in Herisau. He graduated from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences (1997–98). Since 2009 he runs the platform ''Wifimaku'', w ...
(born 1960 in Herisau), a Swiss author and blogger ; Sport *
Fredy Lienhard Fredy Lienhard, Sr. (born 14 September 1947 in Herisau) is a Swiss racing driver. In 1968 Lienhard founded Lista Racing and throughout the 1970s and 1980s he competed in Formula Vee and Formula Two. In 1993 and 1994 he moved to sports car raci ...
, Sr. (born 1947 in Herisau), a Swiss racing driver. *
Jörg Eberle Jörg Eberle (born February 9, 1962) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey player. He competed with the Switzerland men's national ice hockey team at both the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympic Games, as well as the 1992 and 1993 Men's World Ice Ho ...
(born 1962), Swiss ice hockey player *
Mathias Rusterholz Mathias Rusterholz (born 16 August 1971 in Herisau) is a retired Swiss sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. He represented his country at the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as three outdoor and one indoor World Championships. In addition, ...
(born 1971), Swiss athlete, holds the Swiss 400 meter record *
Jonas Hiller Jonas Hiller (born 12 February 1982) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey goaltender. Hiller played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks, the latter with which he began his NHL career with in 2007 ...
, (born 1982), Swiss ice hockey goaltender, currently playing for EHC Biel *
Beat Forster Beat Forster (born February 2, 1983) is a Swiss professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for EHC Biel in the National League (NL). Playing career On February 17, 2015, Forster was re-signed to a four-year contract extension by HC ...
(born 1983), Swiss ice hockey player, currently playing for
EHC Biel EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional ice hockey club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League (NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the German name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the tea ...
* Conor Morrison (born 1989 in Herisau), a professional ice hockey player *
Timo Meier Timo Meier ( , born 8 October 1996) is a Swiss professional ice hockey player for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). After being selected ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Meier became th ...
, (born 1996), Swiss ice hockey player, currently playing for the
San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...


References


External links

*http://www.herisau.ch official website * {{Authority control Cities in Switzerland Cantonal capitals of Switzerland Municipalities of Appenzell Ausserrhoden Cultural property of national significance in Appenzell Ausserrhoden